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Book Review: Melody Queen

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Melody Queen by Puneet Bhandal

Melody Queen (The Bollywood Academy)
by Puneet Bhandal (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Simi’s parents have always encouraged her to study acting as her career, since they are both actors as well. But Simi’s true passion is for composing and arranging music. However, the music industry in Bollywood is completely dominated by men composers. Not even Simi’s teachers at Bollywood Academy think it would be possible for her to break into such a difficult field. As Simi loses her dream, she sees her friends (who are male) pursuing music and writing hit songs. Simi doesn’t want to let her parents down, so she determines to just accept a career as an actress, even though her heart isn’t in it. But is that truly the right decision?

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Book Review: Five Little Peppers and How They Grew

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Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney

Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (Five Little Peppers, #1)
by Margaret Sidney

5 out of 5 stars

The Pepper family are quite poor, living in a small house in the country. They have five children who all get the measles, and poor little Polly is in serious danger. A kind doctor helps the family and nurses them back to health.
One day little four-year-old Fronzie Pepper is nearly kidnapped and is rescued by Jasper, a boy from a wealthy family on vacation in the country. The two families start up an unlikely friendship, leading to opportunities and adventures for the Pepper family.

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Book Review: JRR Tolkien A Life Inspired

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J.R.R. Tolkien by Wyatt North

J.R.R. Tolkien: A Life Inspired
by Wyatt North

4 out of 5 stars

This biography follows the life of JRR Tolkien from his childhood to his death. There are many little details from his life that shaped his personality, memories from childhood that are reflected in his fiction writings, and special people in his life who greatly influenced him.

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Classic Book Review: The Courts of the Morning

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The Courts of the Morning by John Buchan

The Courts of the Morning
by John Buchan

4 out of 5 stars

In this spin-off of the Richard Hannay series, we follow Hannay’s friend, Sandy Arbuthnot. Hannay himself only has a small part at the beginning where he sort of introduces the story, and Sandy takes it from there. Sandy runs into Archie Roylance and Janet vacationing on their honeymoon in South America. They join with old General Blenkiron in a small South American country to stop a business tycoon from staging a coup that could make political trouble all over the world. In the middle of a miner’s rebellion and all-out war with the government, Sandy meets the lovely Barbara. But there is no time for love when you have just kidnapped the most dangerous man in South America and are holding him hostage at a hideout in the jungle called “The Courts of the Morning”.

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Book Reviews: Woodwalkers #1-2

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Carag's Transformation by Katja Brandis

Carag’s Transformation (Woodwalkers #1)
by Katja Brandis, Rachel Ward  (Translation)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Carag is a shapeshifter, changing from his puma animal form into a human whenever he wants. But his family have always lived as pumas, rarely changing into their human shapes. Carag decides to leave his family and start a new life as a human, where he is placed with a foster family. But being a human is more difficult than he thought, and he finds it complicated to navigate through the nuances of human behavior. Carag begins to attend a special school for Woodwalkers who can shapeshift, and he makes enemies and friends along the way.

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Classic Book Review: David Copperfield

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David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

David Copperfield
by Charles Dickens

5 of 5 stars

David Copperfield relates the history of his life from his birth to adulthood. We follow him through his childhood and school years, his romantic attachments, his professional career, and his family connections. David begins life with his affectionate mother and his loyal nurse, Peggoty. But a new person enters David’s life and destroys their happiness. David has many troubles and challenges before he meets with his aunt, Betsy Trotwood, who takes him under her wing to be educated. David’s life is populated with heroes and villains, each with unique personalities. As their drama unfolds, David stands at the center of it all.

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Classic Book Review: North and South

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North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

North and South
by Elizabeth Gaskell

5 out of 5 stars

Margaret and her family move from their sunny country village to the bustling town of Milton. The cotton factories blacken the sky with smoke. The people seem unfriendly and rough. Margaret and her parents discover that the culture in this town is very different from the sleepy village life they are used to. Margaret’s father tutors students in the classics, but finds that most people in Milton are too busy working for their bread to worry about their education. His best student is Mr. John Thornton, a local manufacturer who owns a cotton mill. He is not what London society would call a gentleman, but he wants to improve his manners and education, so he begins tutoring with Margaret’s father. During their lessons, Mr. Thornton and Margaret quarrel over their different opinions, but underneath there is a strong respect for each other that could grow into something more.

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Book Review: The Never-Ending End of the World

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The Never-Ending End of the World by Ann Christy

The Never-Ending End of the World
by Ann Christy (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Coco is left all alone in New York City at the end of the world. All around her, people are trapped in their own individual loops of time, endlessly repeating the same tasks that they were doing when the end of the world began. Coco scavenges for food while trying to avoid the “loopers”, knowing from sad experience that if she disturbs their time loop they will die. After years of solitude, Coco begins to wonder if there might be others like her out in the world, people free from time loops. She charts a way to navigate the spaces between time loops and decides to leave New York.

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Picture Book Review: Letters in Charcoal

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Letters in Charcoal by Irene Vasco

Letters in Charcoal
by Irene Vasco, Juan Palomino (Illustrator)

5 of 5 stars

A young girl grows up in a poor village in Colombia. There is only one person in the entire village who knows how to read, and this girl barters with them to learn the alphabet. She studies to learn to read, so that she can read letters that arrive for her family. She makes alphabet letters from charcoal or chalk, deciphering their meaning and sharing her knowledge with the other children in the village.

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Book Review: Tree Whispers – A Forest of Poems

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Tree Whispers by Mandy Ross

Tree Whispers (The Child’s Play Library)
by Mandy Ross, Juliana Oakley (Illustrator)

4 of 5 stars

This book of poems offers a refreshing look at trees and how much they contribute to our world. There are beautiful poems about the rings of a tree, the roots of a tree, and different rare types of trees like the joshua tree or baobab tree. There is a poem about forest bathing and another about birds’ nests. There are poems for oak trees, jacarandas, willows, sycamores, and fruit trees.
There is also an emphasis on protecting the trees that provide homes for so many animal species.

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