Jane Litte's Blog, page 101

REVIEW: The Brightest Star in Paris by Diana Biller

Dear Diana Biller,

Last year, your debut book, The Widow of Rose House was on my top reads list so I was excited to read your latest, which again features the eccentric Moore family – this time focusing on Benedict – Ben – the second son.

I should have realised of course because the first book contained a ghostly subplot that The Brightest Star in Paris would follow that theme, but I admit, something –  the cover perhaps or its absence of mention in the blurb – had me thinking otherwise. So when ...

Review: The Charm Offensive by Alison Cochrun

Dev Deshpande has always believed in fairy tales. So it’s no wonder then that he’s spent his career crafting them on the long-running reality dating show Ever After. As the most successful producer in the franchise’s history, Dev always scripts the perfect love story for his contestants, even as his own love life crashes and burns. But then the show casts disgraced tech wunderkind Charlie Winshaw as its star.

Charlie is far from the romantic Prince Charming Ever Afterexpects. He doesn’t believe...

REVIEW: Good Times Roll by Ric Ocasek, illustrated by Rob Sayegh Jr.

Ric Ocasek’s rock and roll classic, “Good Times Roll”—one of the Cars’ hit songs—leaps off the page in this exhilarating picture book.

“Let the good times roll
Let them knock you around
Let the good times roll
Let them make you a clown . . .”

Good Times Roll is a delightful picture book based on the Cars’ hit rock and roll song written by lead singer/guitarist Ric Ocasek. “Good Times Roll” was the third single on the Cars’ groundbreaking debut 1978 album The Cars, which has sold over six milli...

REVIEW: Anthony and the Gargoyle by Jo Ellen Bogart, illustrated by Maja Kastelic

A boy befriends a baby gargoyle in this magical wordless story in graphic-novel style from award-winning creators Jo Ellen Bogart and Maja Kastelic.

Anthony’s house is full of family photos — of his parents’ trip to Paris, his great aunt, and Anthony himself as a toddler, holding his favorite rock.

When Anthony wakes up one morning, he sees that his “rock” has cracked open — it’s hollow inside. He doesn’t see the little face peering out from the closet. Later, he discovers the newly hatched cr...

REVIEW: The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley

In the autumn of 1707, old enemies from the Highlands to the Borders are finding common ground as they join to protest the new Union with England. At the same time, the French are preparing to launch an invasion to bring the young exiled Jacobite king back to Scotland to reclaim his throne, and in Edinburgh the streets are filled with discontent and danger.

Queen Anne’s commissioners, seeking to calm the situation, have begun paying out money sent up from London to settle the losses and wages ...

REVIEW: Shelf Life by Nadia Wassef

The warm and winning story of opening a modern bookstore where there were none, Shelf Life: Chronicles of a Cairo Bookseller recounts Nadia Wassef’s troubles and triumphs as a founder and manager of Cairo-based Diwan

The streets of Cairo make strange music. The echoing calls to prayer; the raging insults hurled between drivers; the steady crescendo of horns honking; the shouts of street vendors; the television sets and radios blaring from every sidewalk. Nadia Wassef knows this song by heart.

I...

REVIEW: The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Sophie Blackall

From two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo and two-time Caldecott Medalist Sophie Blackall comes a fantastical meditation on fate, love, and the power of words to spell the world.

We shall all, in the end, be led to where we belong. We shall all, in the end, find our way home.

In a time of war, a mysterious child appears at the monastery of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. Gentle Brother Edik finds the girl, Beatryce, curled in a stall, wracked with fever, coated in dirt and blood,...

REVIEW: The Vanished Days by Susanna Kearsley

Dear Susanna Kearsley,

A new book from you is always a treat for me. My favourite (of many favourites from you) is The Winter Sea, which is “Slains 1”. When I re-read The Winter Sea I’m always forced (happily) because reasons to then read at least some of The Firebird (“Slains 2”). In fact, there’s a glorious ‘Kearsley loop’ I have often found myself in and The Vanished Days (“Slains 3”) hooked me right back into it. It’s a pretty fantastic place to be actually.

I’m sure The Vanished Days can be...

REVIEW: How to Examine a Wolverine by Philipp Schott

Crammed with useful info, funny recollections, heartfelt anecdotes, and lots of cute furry creatures, a collection for all animal lovers!

This collection of over 60 stories and essays, drawn from Dr. Schott’s 30 years in small animal practice, covers an astonishing breadth of experiences, emotions, and species. Schott has tales of creatures ranging from tiny honeybees to massive Burmese pythons, although the emphasis is on dogs and cats and the interesting, often quirky, people who love them. ...

Open Thread for Readers for October 2021

Got a book you want to talk about? Frustrated with a book or series? In love with a new one? Found a buried treasure? An issue that keeps popping up in the books you are reading? Just want to chat about stuff in general?