I enjoyed a lot of things in this one: Penny being a magical genius, Agatha having her own adventures, Lady Salisbury and her delicious cakes, Shepard being overly friendly and curious about everything. Lots of fun!

The Simon & Baz relationship at the heart of it all didn‘t quite work its magic on me. And there are so many unresolved things about their future. I‘m still deciding how I feel about it - but I am glad I went along for the ride.

I‘m glad I got to go straight into Any Way the Wind Blows after Wayward Son. I can sort of think of it as one longer adventure. It definitely feels like there are more things going on in the story now!
#anywaythewindblows #simonsnow #rainbowrowell

I‘d give this three and a half stars or so. Great dialogue and fun to see these characters in America for a change of scenery. The adventure itself seemed a bit sluggish, and I started to lose patience with everyone‘s self-doubt and internal struggles. Middle book syndrome, basically.

But! I still enjoy the characters, and I‘m curious about where Rowell will take them in the finale.

#waywardson #simonsnow #rainbowrowell

1. Challenger explosion. We watched it in school and everyone was so shocked.
2. Library 💜
3. A Ring of Endless Light - I remember getting shivers while reading it in about 5th grade.
#wondrouswednesday @Eggs

I‘m enjoying the chance to get reacquainted with these characters as they trek across America. #waywardson #rainbowrowell #simonsnowtrilogy

On a personal note, I have an exit interview today as I leave my elementary school library job and move to a new position in a high school library. I‘m excited to try a new challenge (and to read all the YA!), but ugh - I am so not looking forward to today. #staystrong #yougotthis #movingon

Wow! This book was overwhelming at first, because of the intricate world building and the way Jemisin just drops you in to everything. (Pro tip - there is a very helpful appendix with vocab and history notes at the back of the book!) BUT the hard work definitely pays off. I was completely fascinated by the characters, the world, and the unanswered questions. Definitely plan to keep going in the trilogy. #thebrokenearth #thefifthseason #jemisin

A difficult one for me to review. I liked the format alternating between Sadie‘s POV and the podcast episodes. The story was just so grim - as it was intended to be, but not what I would normally choose. I couldn‘t stop listening, but I was glad when it was over.

“Oh, yeah. This one‘s a keeper”
I‘m nearing halfway through this epic fantasy, and I feel like I‘m finally getting my hooks into the story. A harder read than what I have been choosing lately. But sometimes a challenge is nice.
#thefifthseason #NKJemisin #thebrokenearth

Looking forward to a fun swap! #summerbookmarkswap @cwarnier

Continuing to make my way through this addictive series with my 4th grade daughter. Sophie and her friends now have half a dozen enemies, so it‘s a good thing she has just as many special elf abilities. Lots of Silveny the alicorn in this installment, which was very welcome. And finally some new developments in the Sophie-Fitz-Keefe triangle. On to book 8! #keeperofthelostcities #teamkeefe #shannonmessenger #middlegrade

A nice slice-of-life type story about a high school senior being raised by his Swedish grandfather and working together on their donuts & kebab food truck. The relationships are somewhat predictable, but in a nice and satisfying way. A few surprises too. It‘s easy to spend time with these characters in their world. #donuts #jaredreck #foodtrucks

Stevie Bell and the gang are back! This book felt like a summer vacation with some of my favorite people - with a tricky local murder mystery thrown in. (Honestly I would happily read a book full of just Stevie and Nate‘s sarcastic quips about life.) The mystery was puzzling and clever - a lot of fun overall. I just heard that we‘re going to get a book #5 - yay! #trulydevious #theboxinthewoods #maureenjohnson #steviebell

“She‘s like the Hulk,” Nate explained. “But instead of transforming when she gets mad, it‘s when she sees crafts. And she doesn‘t turn big and green. She just makes crafts. So not like the Hulk, really.”
#NateIsTheBest #TheBoxInTheWoods #TrulyDevious #MaureenJohnson

1. Back to school! Implement new seating charts and get back in the groove.

2. Loved this whole cozy winter break just being at home with my favorite people.

@cupcake12
#motivationalmonday

1. Scarlet, Neverseen, A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor

2. A Wrinkle in Time, Walden, Harry Potter

3. “Two gnomes stood waiting by the river, watching the colorful reeds sway in the rushing water.” (Neverseen)
#weekendreads

Finally made it to the top of the holds list! #grishaverse #leighbardugo

Wow! Loved this. (Several students told me I would.) The character Melody comes across as very real - never precious or perfect. Her story was inspirational without being cheesy. This would be a good one for fans of Wonder.

#middlegrade #outofmymind #sharondraper

Audiobooks save the day! My 7th grade daughter was getting anxious and cranky on the way to her lacrosse practice today. So I turned on my current audiobook to distract us. Fortunately we tuned in just as the kids magically fall into their story book. Turned our frowns right upside down!

And I can already see why this series is so popular in my school. Chris Colfer has many talents!

#bookwin #landofstories #middlegrade #chriscolfer

Pretty good middle grade novel with nice narration. The creepy old mansion and spooky woods atmosphere was a lot of fun. I also enjoyed the clock mystery mixed with a dash of alchemy. The ending churns up a bunch of new variables which felt kind of forced as a way to leave room for sequels. Still it‘s a fun read for kids who like creepy, but not too scary.

#watchhollow #gregoryfunaro #spookywoods #shadowwoods #clockmystery #middlegrade

Based on the overall concept of Neal Shusterman‘s future society structure — all-knowing repository of human knowledge given full authority to govern the entire globe — you‘d expect to detest such an entity. And yet I kind of love the Thunderhead‘s cleverness, and I am rooting for this dystopia (utopia?) to succeed.

#dystopia #thunderhead #scythe

Happy un-birthday to me!

I‘m always stunned by how different my reading habits are over the summer. I have no focus whatsoever! I expect to read more... but it turns out the opposite. But I am excited to dig into this and get my groove back!

I‘m finally getting into book 2 in The Great Library series! My reading time has been very sporadic so far this summer, and I‘m finding that these books require some focus, so it‘s been slow going. I‘m glad to be spending time in this world when I can!

#TheGreatLibrary #TheGreatLibraryChapteraDay

@MinDea @GarthRanzz

As I‘m nearing the end of A Closed and Common Orbit - I‘m thrilled to see that Becky Chambers has another book coming in July! Thanks for recommending these, @VanChocStrawberry !

#wayfarers

I love finding random little things like this in a library book. It‘s like a tiny connection with someone else who held this book before me.

#readreadread #catchingup #TheGreatLibraryChapterADay

This made me laugh out loud today!

#harrypotterforever

Nooooo! When your library loan runs out before the end of the book. 😭😱 If this were a physical book, I‘d rack up a day or two of fines to power through it - but the audio file just returns itself whether I like it or not. Back on hold, I go.

This week has zipped by! Time to dive into this toady. TGIF!
#litsybuddyread

Excitement level: Maximum!!! So excited for this duology about one of my favorite characters in Leigh Bardugo‘s Grishaverse!

#grishaverse #nikolaiduology

1. Last few pages of Beartown
2. Our town is getting a Portillos restaurant soon very close to my house. Yum!
3. I‘m intrigued, but not this time.
4. Why didn‘t the seagull fly over the bay? Because then it would be a bagel.

#friyayintro @jesshowbooks

1. The Hunger Games Trilogy, The Thirteenth Tale, several of L‘Engle‘s books

2. Pizza and movie theater popcorn

3. Orphan Black, Outlander, Nurse Jackie

4. @GarthRanzz @VanChocStrawberry

Happy birthday to me!!! So excited to explore the *awesome* Owl Crate box today. It couldn‘t be more perfectly to my reading taste lately. Love!!! (I won‘t show the contents yet in case someone out there hasn‘t opened yet.)

#owlcrate #ocshadows

1. 1-3 almost always used/thrifted
2. No new book. I‘m an avid library-goer, so I think I could cope
3. Gulf Shores, Alabama ☀️
4. I bought a mug, which is kind of my new standard souvenir. I used to obsessively buy those tilty pens with some little image that floats back and forth. You know the ones? They‘re hard to find anymore.
5. 🙌🏻
@jesshowbooks #friyayintro

1. I‘m doing the Beartown buddy read. (So good!)
2. I like my name, and I almost like how it is spelled... but that‘s the part I would change slightly to make it easier for other people to get right.
3. I‘ve had Imagine Dragon‘s “Thunder” stuck in my brain lately.
@GarthRanzz #TrivialThursday

1. Don‘t let the green grass and blue sky fool you. It‘s cold outside in Indiana today.
2. WWII fiction
3. Our trips usually center around visiting family, but I would love a lazy beach vacation!
4. Beige with green shutters
5. The Thirteenth Tale - so bookish and also deeply weird. Love it!
#humpdaypost @MinDea

This one was a bit of a disappointment for me. I liked the world that Lu created, and I will never get tired of stories about a band of characters oppressed because of their secret powers.

Buuutt... I just never really connected with any particular character. I felt like I didn‘t know who to root for. I also found the changing perspectives was not very effective for this story. (The narration was not my fave either, unfortunately.)

I‘m trying to stick with this, but I need someone to tell me that it gets better. I love Rebecca and many other gothic novels, so why am I not connecting with it? Does it switch from the neighbor‘s point of view to a flashback soon, I hope? So far, it‘s not what I expected.
#strugglebus

1. Oldest
2. I‘ve wished for fewer siblings sometimes, but only when they are annoying me, lol.
3. 5
4. The Weasley kids, the Boxcar children
5. Well I know @VanChocStrawberry is a match!

#friyayintro @jesshowbooks

Half price day at the library sale! I haven‘t made it to one of these for a long time. @VanChocStrawberry we found a lot of good stuff!

Finished at last! I started this about a year ago and then misplaced my stitching bag until just recently. I love it!

#crossstitch #litsycrafts #harrypotter

I decided that I just couldn‘t wait until the end of the month for my next Audible credit. So I scoured Libby for something I could borrow and listen to immediately — score! So far, so good.

Still enjoying this book very much & I‘m almost at the discussion checkpoint for this week. Yay!

#litsybuddyread

What a fun book! I could get picky about the pacing and a few plot points... but basically I was having so much fun with this on audio that I don‘t even mind.

As this pic of my husband‘s Joust game from our living room shows, we are exactly the right audience for all of the 80s nostalgia. (Hubby read it years ago.)

I‘m looking forward to the movie, but I‘ve heard that Joust is not in it??? Say it isn‘t so! 😮

I waited until the last minute to try to read this before seeing the movie in the theater! The audiobook has totally sucked me in. It‘s a fun adventure, and I just might finish it quickly after all. 🤗

1. Apple
2. A Nook that I never use. But I do read on my phone some.
3. Facebook, Audible & silly games
4. Desktop & phone
#manicmonday @JoScho

Flags in my book for each of the discussion checkpoints. 👍
#litsybuddyread

Oh happy #easterbasketbookswap day! Thank you so much, @OriginalCyn620 for the exciting books and sweet surprises! This whole experience has been so much fun!! Thanks for hosting, @JoeStalksBeck ! 🌷🐰📚

🌸Greenglass House - a middle grade Christmastime mystery that I really enjoyed.
🌸Yes! Family brunch today, church and Easter baskets tomorrow.
🌸Usually live plants.
🌸 You know, I often enjoy them - but I rarely pick them up to read. 🤔

#weekendchat @CSeydel