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Tag: Music (Page 1 of 3)

Book Review: Taylor Swift

April 18, 2024 / / 0 Comments

 

Taylor Swift

– Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, Borghild Fallberg (ill) –

Little People, Big Dreams

Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Published 11 June 2024

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I couldn’t resist reading and reviewing this Taylor Swift Little People, Big Dreams book. I know I’ll have to buy multiple copies for my school library, including a copy in our secondary library. We are adding a few of the Little People, Big Dreams series to our secondary biography collection, just people the senior kids relate to or are mad for. And there is no one they are quite as keen on as Taylor Swift (though there are also plenty of staff Swifties, including the principal).

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Book Review: LEGO Heroes

October 17, 2023 / / 0 Comments

 

LEGO Heroes: LEGO Builders Changing Our World – One Brick At A Time

– Graham E. Hancock –

Chronicle Books

Published 16 May 2023

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I am a massive fan of LEGO, the LEGO story and how play is integral to both. We all know that LEGO can be used in many different ways and as creatively as your imagination allows, but did you know that LEGO can help make a prosthetic arm or rebuild a reef? Continue reading

Book Review: Love and the Dream Come True

July 26, 2022 / / 0 Comments

 

Love and the Dream Come True

– Tammy L. Gray –

State of Grace #3

Bethany House Publishers

Published 2 August 2022

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Love and The Dream Come True brings to a conclusion the A State of Grace series. It comes full circle on so many of the characters we have seen grow, heal and fall in love. It’s perfect that this last book features musician Cameron, who has been part of so many of the previous books.

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Book Review: Always Jane

February 21, 2022 / / 0 Comments

 

Always Jane

– Jenn Bennett –

Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Published 29 March 2022

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It took me about 40 seconds to figure who was our narrator and which brother was which when I started reading Always Jane. And then it took me about .02 seconds to fall in love with Fen. Completely and for always. But, by the end of the book it was the author Jenn Bennett to whom I felt the need to confess my undying love, for writing such a beautiful and powerful novel.

In true Jenn Bennett fashion, Always Jane is a compelling and addictive contemporary YA novel, a find-your-voice-and-own-way coming of age novel, with steamy romance, and delightful and complicated family dynamics.

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Book Review: When You Get The Chance

December 3, 2021 / / 0 Comments

 

When You Get The Chance

– Emma Lord –

Wednesday Books

Published 4 January 2022

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I really hope the title of this book is in reference to the song I Hope You Dance. “When you get the chance, I hope you dance…”. If so, it is the perfect theme song for this musical theatre-loving celebration of love, found-family and connection.

Emma Lord delivers once again on a delightful YA contemporary novel about growing up and finding your voice.

Millie knows who she is and where she’s going. She just needs to get her dad onboard with the plan. When Millie is accepted into musical theatre pre-college, she is devastated when her dad says she can’t go. Stumbling upon her father’s old LiveJournal from his own college days provides her with the perfect clues to finally find her mother. If she can get her mother on her side, it will make precollege a reality. With the help of her best friend, Millie finds herself in her very own Mamma Mia – three possible women, three possible mothers. As Millie gets to know each one (through a series of hilarious and touching set-ups), it becomes harder to say goodbye to the possibly of the different realities she has found. Millie must also face the hurt she has caused in her search – to her family, friends and herself.

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Book Review: Love and the Silver Lining

July 7, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Love and the Silver Lining – Tammy L. Gray – State of Grace #2 – Bethany House Publishers – Published 3 August 2021

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Synopsis

Darcy Malone’s dreams of mission work are dashed on her eve of fulfilling them: The Guatemalan school she was to teach at has closed. Devastated because she’s already quit her job and given up her apartment, she also loses the perfect escape from the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. Stuck in her worst-case scenario, Darcy takes an unexpected offer to move in with Bryson Katsaros’s little sister, despite the years of distrust that’s grown between her and Bryson, the lead singer in her best friend Cameron’s band. As she meets those close to him, Darcy realizes that Bryson is more than she believed.

Struck with the need to find a purpose, Darcy jumps at the chance to care for and train a group of dogs, with the aim of finding each a home before their bereaved owner returns them to animal control. But it’s Darcy herself who will encounter a surprising rescue in the form of unexpected love, forgiveness, and the power of letting go.

My thoughts

Love and the Silver Lining is the extremely enjoyable second book in the State of Grace series. I adored this book – even more than the first book. While they form part of a series and there are character and setting cross overs, you can read both books as standalones.

I think this was exactly the book I needed. It was light and heartwarming and so addictive. I really struggled to put it down to return to work and sleep. It was funny and heartbreaking and had so much story that made it just a delight to read.

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Book Review: We Are Inevitable

May 15, 2021 / / 0 Comments

We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman<br /> CR: Simon &amp; Schuster

We Are Inevitable – Gayle Forman – Penguin Teen – Published 1 June 2021

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Synopsis

So far, the inevitable hasn’t worked out so well for Aaron Stein.

While his friends have gone to college and moved on with their lives, Aaron’s been left behind in the Cascade Mountains of Washington State, running a failing bookshop with his dad, Ira. What he needs is a lucky break, the good kind of inevitable.

And then he meets Hannah. Incredible Hannah – magical, musical, brave and clever. Could she be the answer? And could they – their relationship, their meeting – possibly be the inevitable Aaron’s been waiting for?

My thoughts

What does a failing bookshop, a group of lumberjacks and a grieving teen have to do with each other? If Aaron had his way, absolutely nothing, but in this funny, heartening novel together they have the power to change everything.

Aaron doesn’t know what his future holds and he is still reeling from his past. His mother has left, his brother is dead and his father seems to be ailing more and more each day. Aaron knows the bookshop that was once his parents’ whole world is struggling. If he had his way, he would sell it and finally be able to move on with his life. Just as Aaron is ready to sell a range of new people enter his life and seem determined to do everything they can to bring the bookshop back to life.

As a reader, it’s no surprise that I love bookshops and I know many other readers feel the same way. Bluebird Books plays a big role in this book. It’s the perfect setting for this story, falling apart, disorganised but has so much charm and love woven into its very fabric – exactly like the story of awe Are Inevitable itself.

The characters are so vibrant in this book, just as they are varied. First there is Aaron. Grieving, worried about his father and the bookshop, left behind by his classmates and floundering a bit. He is described by another character in the book as an unreliable narrator. Just as my heart hurt from him he frustrated me a little as he is so persistent in pushing others away from him and being so distrustful. We see the story from his point of view, but it’s still easy to see how his hurt rules his decisions.

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Book Review: Love and A Little White Lie

August 2, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Love and A Little White Lie – Tammy L. Gray – Bethany House Publishers – Published 4 August 2020

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Synopsis

After hitting rock bottom, January decides she has nothing to lose in working at her aunt’s church–while hiding a lack of faith. A minor deception until she meets the church’s guitarist and sparks fly. Can she avoid disaster–especially when a handsome landscape architect has an annoying ability to push her to deal with feelings she’d rather keep buried?

My thoughts

I loved this romantic story about finding somewhere to belong and connecting with a faith. Love and A Little White Lie has a love triangle that provides a romance that is really fun and sweet as well as a romance that is full of connection and honesty.

January is looking to start over. Her last relationship failed just after she gave up her joy and spend all her savings moving across the country to be with her fiancé. Now she has returned to her Aunt’s property. Her aunt has also secured her a job at the local church. The only problem is that January doesn’t believe in God and isn’t an Christian. She decides not to tell anyone. But Grace Community is more welcoming than she expected, especially Cameron, one of the musicians, and she feels needed and like she is finally making a difference. Everything would be great if it wasn’t for Dillon, a landscaper working at her Aunt’s property, who calls January out on her deceit.

Love and A Little White Lie is a fun and easy book to read. I loved January’s voice. She is a genuinely nice character and reaches out to help others without even thinking about it. I was intrigued by the way she noticed little details and remembered information. While we are told this is one of her gifts (she considers it more a quirk), it’s also shown throughout the story, which made it really believable and nice detail in the story.

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Book Review: All Our Worst Ideas

July 25, 2020 / / 0 Comments

All Our Worst Ideas – Vicky Skinner – Swoon Readers – Published 11 August 2020

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Synopsis

When Amy, on her way to becoming valedictorian of her graduating class and getting accepted to her dream school, gets dumped by her long-term boyfriend, she takes a job at a record store to ease the pain. She needs a distraction, badly.

Oliver, Amy’s record store co-worker, isn’t so sure about Amy—his complete opposite—but what he is sure of is his decision not to go to college. He just can’t figure out how to tell his mother.

As they work late-night shifts at the record store, Amy and Oliver become friends and then confidantes and then something more, but when Amy has a hard time letting go of what she thought was her perfect future with her ex, she risks losing the future she didn’t even know she wanted with Oliver.

My thoughts

If you are looking for a teenage true love story about finding the one, you’ll love All Our Worst Ideas. Touching on topics about following your dreams and dealing with family issues, All Our Worst Ideas is a sweet mature YA contemporary romance.

Amy is ready to finish her high schooling as valedictorian, get into Stanford with a full ride scholarship. Then every Friday night spent studying, every sacrifice will be worth it. Until her mother asks her to get a job while her stepdad is out of work. Until her boyfriend dumps her for not spending enough time with him. Until she starts to like hanging out with her new, if slightly grumpy co-worker. But Amy doesn’t have time for distractions and she will have to decide what is most important to her and what she is willing to risk to achieve her dreams.

Amy is your typical YA heroine who is excellent at school and spends her time studying. Oliver is a year older, finished with high school and working full time at the record store.

Amy starts the novel in a very serious, long-term relationship. Fortunately, she isn’t quick to fall out of love after her boyfriend ends their relationship nor quick to move straight onto a new relationship.

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