Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 152

Book Review: Bestiary by K-Ming Chang

Title: BestiaryBy: K-Ming ChangeGenre: Magical Realism/FictionPages: 272Release Date: September 8th, 2020Publisher: One WorldRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:Three generations of Taiwanese American women are haunted by the myths of their homeland in this spellbinding, visceral debut about one family's queer desires, violent impulses, and buried secrets.

One evening, Mother tells Daughter a story about a tiger spirit who lived in a woman’s body. She was called Hu Gu Po, and she hungered to eat children, especially their toes. Soon afterwards, Daughter awakes with a tiger tail. And more mysterious events follow: Holes in the backyard spit up letters penned by her grandmother; a visiting aunt arrives with snakes in her belly; a brother tests the possibility of flight. All the while, Daughter is falling for Ben, a neighborhood girl with strange powers of her own. As the two young lovers translate the grandmother’s letters, Daughter begins to understand that each woman in her family embodies a myth–and that she will have to bring her family’s secrets to light in order to change their destiny.

With a poetic voice of crackling electricity, K-Ming Chang is an explosive young writer who combines the wit and fabulism of Helen Oyeyemi with the subversive storytelling of Maxine Hong Kingston. Tracing one family’s history from Taiwan to America, from Arkansas to California, Bestiary is a novel of migration, queer lineages, and girlhood.
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Review:I enjoyed this book. It was different than most the books I've read recently, which was a nice change. The characters had some strange but wonderful things happening to them and I was intrigued by this. There were a few things that caught my attention, like how often people peed their pants. And the fact that everyone talked about bowl movements and penises like it was a normal conversational subject. The one thing that really struck me as odd was how the rain was always F*ing their mouths. Its a strange visual I can't even wrap my head around. 
If you are not OK with potty language being a passive conversational piece, then don't read this book, but for the rest of you rebels who snicker anytime someone says penis, then please, pick up this really interesting read. You won't regret it. 
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Recipe: Cheesy Chicken Rice Casserole

I've been finding some really delicious recipes out there in the blogosphere. This Cheesy Chicken Rice Casserole was easy and quick, something my whole family could eat. Best part, its gluten free. Most the ingredients are add as desired, meaning you add as much of them as you want into the recipe. There really isn't a set amount. I used a little celery and a lot of broccoli, just because that is my preference. 
I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients Rice - I used white rice1 tbsp. ButterGarlicYellow OnionCremini MushroomsCeleryThymeFlour - I used gluten freeDry White WineChicken BrothBroccoliSour CreamShredded Chicken - I used RotisserieShredded Cheddar Cheese
Instructions1. Cook the rice according to the package and set aside.
2. Prepare veggies - Garlic, Onion, Mushrooms and Celery.
3. Prepare Chicken (If you have a rotisserie chicken.)
4. Melt butter in a large over proof skillet over medium heat. Add Garlic, Onion, Mushrooms and Celery until they are soft. Add the thyme.
5. Whisk in enough flour to make a past. Then whisk in dry white wine and Chicken broth and let it cook until it thickens. It should look like a roux at this point. 
6. Stir in broccoli, sour cream, chicken,1/2 cup of cheese and the cooked rice. Top with remaining cheese.
7. Transfer skillet to the oven at 350 degrees and cook until warm, about 20 minutes. 
8. Top with parsley if desired and serve. 

We enjoyed this recipe and it was easy to make. Its perfect for large crowds or just a few people. I'm curious to see if the broccoli can be switched out for another kind of vegetable, or if the sour cream could be replaced for cream of mushroom soup. Of course, that usually has gluten in it, so I would have to make my own. If anyone has a good gluten free cream of mushroom soup recipe, would you please share it in the comments below. I am dying for a good soup.  

Book Review: Hella by David Gerrold

Title: HellaBy: David GerroldGenre: Sci-fiPages: 448Release Date: June 16th, 2020Publisher: DAWRating: ★★★★★
Summary from Goodreads:A master of science fiction introduces a world where everything is large and the problems of survival even larger in this exciting new novel.

Hella is a planet where everything is oversized—especially the ambitions of the colonists.

The trees are mile-high, the dinosaur herds are huge, and the weather is extreme—so extreme, the colonists have to migrate twice a year to escape the blistering heat of summer and the atmosphere-freezing cold of winter.

Kyle is a neuro-atypical young man, emotionally challenged, but with an implant that gives him real-time access to the colony’s computer network, making him a very misunderstood savant. When an overburdened starship arrives, he becomes the link between the established colonists and the refugees from a ravaged Earth.

The Hella colony is barely self-sufficient. Can it stand the strain of a thousand new arrivals, bringing with them the same kinds of problems they thought they were fleeing?

Despite the dangers to himself and his family, Kyle is in the middle of everything—in possession of the most dangerous secret of all. Will he be caught in a growing political conspiracy? Will his reawakened emotions overwhelm his rationality? Or will he be able to use his unique ability to prevent disaster?
Add on Goodreads Review: A fantastic ride through space. I loved this book. It's been a while since I've read a scifi that kept my attention from cover to cover. I think what really made this story was the main characters undefined autism traits. He was different, but familiar. I think we all struggle to fit in, and this story really brought out how society struggles to be perfect, but what we really need is to embrace difference. 
The thrilling mystery of the unknown and the who done it, was intriguing. I also enjoyed the world building. A good scifi relies on the world around it since the familiar is somewhat unknown. This world was new and exciting, a wonderful but scary place that sucked me in and spit me back out.
I can't say enough about how much I loved this story.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Weekly Menu #355 And The Book Of The Week

Monday. You know... I had high hope for this year, and even more recently, I had high hope that we were well on our way to recovering from covid and getting back on our feet, but I have to tell you... I am just sad. I don't like to talk about politics on my blog, I try to stay neutral, but I am still sad.... Still so sad...
While I wait in line at the library for books that are more relevant in today's world, I decided to pick a dystopian to remind me that the future is undecided, and right now we have a chance to change what could be. To make a better place. This weeks book is A Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. 
I hope you stay safe out there this week. Please enjoy the menu. 

MENU 
MondayBeef Bulgogi Meatballs
TuesdayCorn and Ham Risotto
WednesdayInstant Pot Philly Cheesesteak
ThursdaySesame Pork Milanese
FridayTortellini in Brodo
SaturdayOklahoma S'Mack Burgers
SundayLeftovers Night

Sunday Confessions #47

Welcome to the new and improved Sunday Confessions.... No, really... All I changed was my opening image. 
It has been a week and I'm really excited to share the new books that just came into my possession. They are awesome and I can't wait to dive into their covers. I just need to finish the two review books that I'm working on to get to them. It won't take long. 
Let's get to it, shall we?

Sunday Confessions #46~Weekly Menu #354 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Creepy Little Things by Chelsea Ichaso~May 2020 Wrap Up~Book Review: Reflection by Elizabeth Lim~Book Review: Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne

Weekly Menu #355 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Hella by David Gerrold~Recipe: Cheesy Chicken Rice Casserole~Book Review: Bestiary by K-Ming Chang~Author Interview: Neda Disney~Sunday Confessions #48

I didn't expect all of these books to come in from the library all at once. I am going to have to read like the wind.




42/50 Books in my Read Around the Country challenge~17/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~6/20 in my Scotland challenge~39/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~38/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge

I have some books to get to, so here is to another week of reading and a wonderful journey in this strange world we live in. I feel like we are in a story of our own. Stay safe out there, and love one another. We need it right now.

Book Review: Ink & Sigil by Kevin Hearne

Title: Ink & SigilBy: Kevin HearneGenre: ParanormalPages: 336Release Date: August 25th, 2020Publisher: Del Rey BooksRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:New York Times bestselling author Kevin Hearne returns to the world of his beloved Iron Druid Chronicles in a spin-off series about an eccentric master of rare magic solving an uncanny mystery in Scotland.

Al MacBharrais is both blessed and cursed. He is blessed with an extraordinary white moustache, an appreciation for craft cocktails – and a most unique magical talent. He can cast spells with magically enchanted ink and he uses his gifts to protect our world from rogue minions of various pantheons, especially the Fae.

But he is also cursed. Anyone who hears his voice will begin to feel an inexplicable hatred for Al, so he can only communicate through the written word or speech apps. And his apprentices keep dying in peculiar freak accidents. As his personal life crumbles around him, he devotes his life to his work, all the while trying to crack the secret of his curse.

But when his latest apprentice, Gordie, turns up dead in his Glasgow flat, Al discovers evidence that Gordie was living a secret life of crime. Now Al is forced to play detective – while avoiding actual detectives who are wondering why death seems to always follow Al. Investigating his apprentice’s death will take him through Scotland’s magical underworld, and he’ll need the help of a mischievous hobgoblin if he’s to survive.
Add on Goodreads  Review:This story threw me into a world of unique magic and world building. I really enjoyed this book. It had a mystery that I couldn't figure out until the end, and I'm great at figuring out mysteries early on. It always intrigues me when I don't know what is going to happen.
The characters were deep and dark, something that really played out well in the blackness of the world around them and they really helped the story to move forward at a wonderful pace.
If you want a Harry Potter meets True Blood kind of vibe, this is the book for you.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Book Review: Reflection by Elizabeth Lim

[image error] Title: ReflectionBy: Elizabeth LimGenre: Fantasy/RetellingPages: 408Release Date: March 27th, 2018Publisher: Disney-HyperionRating: ★★★★★
Summary from Goodreads:What if Mulan had to travel to the Underworld?
When Captain Shang is mortally wounded by Shan Yu in battle, Mulan must travel to the Underworld, Diyu, in order to save him from certain death. But King Yama, the ruler of Diyu, is not willing to give Shang up easily. With the help of Shang's great lion guardian ShiShi, Mulan must traverse Diyu to find Shang's spirit, face harrowing obstacles, and leave by sunrise⁠—or become King Yama's prisoner forever. Moreover, Mulan is still disguised as the soldier called Ping, wrestling with the decision to reveal her true identity to her closest friend. Will Mulan be able to save Shang before it's too late? Will he ever be able to trust her again? Or will she lose him--and be lost in the Underworld⁠—forever?
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Review:If Mulan went to the underworld... This is what would happen...

I loved this twist on a childhood favorite. Mulan followed the man she loved into the underworld, to bring him back. Problem is, he still doesn't know what she is and she only has until sunup to bring him back.

This was my first Disney twisted tale, but it won't be my last.

May 2020 Wrap Up

Welcome to my May 2020 book wrap up. A list of what I read last month.
So, I updated my wrap up images. They look pretty snazzy if I do say so myself... And I do... May was a crazy month, but I managed to read a whole bunch of amazing books. Lets get to it, shall we?
Three books made it on my five star list. They are all very different, but I enjoyed them all for their own reasons. My Story by Elizabeth Smart really chilled me to the core, but told a story about the strength of one person to survive. The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick was an emotional roller coaster of what love between sisters looks like. Hella is a ground breaking scifi with an unusual, but wonderful main character. A must read. 

My Storyby Elizabeth Smart, Chris StewartFor the first time, ten years after her abduction from her Salt Lake City bedroom, Elizabeth Smart reveals how she survived and the secret to forging a new life in the wake of a brutal crime.On June 5, 2002, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart, the daughter of a close-knit Mormon family, was taken from her home in the middle of the night by religious fanatic, Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee. She was kept chained, dressed in disguise, repeatedly raped, and told she and her family would be killed if she tried to escape. After her rescue on March 12, 2003, she rejoined her family and worked to pick up the pieces of her life.Now for the first time, in her memoir, MY STORY, she tells of the constant fear she endured every hour, her courageous determination to maintain hope, and how she devised a plan to manipulate her captors and convinced them to return to Utah, where she was rescued minutes after arriving. Smart explains how her faith helped her stay sane in the midst of a nightmare and how she found the strength to confront her captors at their trial and see that justice was served.In the nine years after her rescue, Smart transformed from victim to advocate, traveling the country and working to educate, inspire and foster change. She has created a foundation to help prevent crimes against children and is a frequent public speaker. In 2012, she married Matthew Gilmour, whom she met doing mission work in Paris for her church, in a fairy tale wedding that made the cover of People magazine.
The Girls with No Namesby Serena BurdickThe Girls with No Names pulls readers into the gilded age of New York City in the 1910s, when suffragettes marched in the street, unions fought for better work conditions—and girls were confined to the House of Mercy for daring to break the rules.

Not far from Luella and Effie Tildon’s large family mansion in Inwood looms the House of Mercy, a work house for wayward girls. The sisters grow up under its shadow with the understanding that even as wealthy young women, their freedoms come with limits. But when the sisters accidentally discover a shocking secret about their father, Luella, the brazen older sister, becomes emboldened to do as she pleases.

But her rebellion comes with consequences, and one morning Luella is mysteriously gone. Effie suspects her father has made good on his threat to send Luella to the House of Mercy and hatches a plan to get herself committed to save her sister. But she made a miscalculation, and with no one to believe her story, Effie’s escape from the House of Mercy seems impossible—unless she can trust an enigmatic girl named Mable. As their fates entwine, Mable and Effie must rely on each other and their tenuous friendship to survive.

The Home for Unwanted Girls meets The Dollhouse in this atmospheric, heartwarming story that explores not only the historical House of Mercy, but the lives—and secrets—of the girls who stayed there.
Hellaby David GerroldA master of science fiction introduces a world where everything is large and the problems of survival even larger in this exciting new novel.

Hella is a planet where everything is oversized—especially the ambitions of the colonists.

The trees are mile-high, the dinosaur herds are huge, and the weather is extreme—so extreme, the colonists have to migrate twice a year to escape the blistering heat of summer and the atmosphere-freezing cold of winter.

Kyle is a neuro-atypical young man, emotionally challenged, but with an implant that gives him real-time access to the colony’s computer network, making him a very misunderstood savant. When an overburdened starship arrives, he becomes the link between the established colonists and the refugees from a ravaged Earth.

The Hella colony is barely self-sufficient. Can it stand the strain of a thousand new arrivals, bringing with them the same kinds of problems they thought they were fleeing?

Despite the dangers to himself and his family, Kyle is in the middle of everything—in possession of the most dangerous secret of all. Will he be caught in a growing political conspiracy? Will his reawakened emotions overwhelm his rationality? Or will he be able to use his unique ability to prevent disaster?









42/50 Books in my Read Around the Country challenge~17/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge~6/20 in my Scotland challenge~39/341 Gilmore Girls challenge~38/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge

I'm nearly finished with my read around the country challenge, should be done within the next few weeks. Then I can get to work on some of my other challenges. A few are pretty hefty. 
I've already started my June TBR list, its looking like an amazing month. I'd love to hear what you plan on reading. Leave me a comment below.

Book Review: Little Creepy Things by Chelsea Ichaso

Title: Little Creepy ThingsBy: Chelsea IchasoGenre: ThrillerPages: 336Release Date: June 2nd, 2020Publisher: Sourcebooks FireRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads:When she was a child, Cassidy Pratt accidentally started a fire that killed her neighbor. At least, that’s what she’s been told. She can’t remember anything from that day, and her town’s bullies, particularly the cruel and beautiful Melody Davenport, have never let her live it down.

But then Melody goes missing, and Cassidy thinks she may have information. She knows she should go to the cops, but she recently joked about how much she’d like to get rid of Melody. She even planned out the perfect way to do it. And then she gets a chilling text from an unknown number: I’m so glad we’re in this together.

Now it’s up to Cassidy to figure out what really happened before the truth behind Melody’s disappearance sets the whole town ablaze.
Add on Goodreads Review:Creepy is right... This book kept me guessing the whole time I was reading it.
We follow a group of pretty messed up kids, who blackmail, threaten and lie to each other daily. This turmoil of a cast kept me on my toes wondering, "could it be them? I think so... Nope, not them... Wait, is it?" In the end, I didn't see it coming.
The back story really helped hold the plot together and unfolded so precisely that I felt like I had lived it along with the characters.
I really enjoyed this read. Blasted through it in one sitting. A great creepy read for a dreary spring afternoon.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Weekly Menu #354 And The Book Of The Week

Monday! What a beautiful week we had. The weather was hot... a little too hot... but sunny and wonderful. Work was crazy busy again, now that the country is waking up from its long sleep, and my boys are finally back on a sleep schedule that works for everyone. It was a little rough there for a while. 
I didn't do as much reading last week as I had wished, but I did manage to finish a few review books that I can't wait to share with you, so make sure to check back in the next couple weeks for them.
This weeks read is Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson (no relation). The book drops in July and I'm excited dive into these covers before its released. I've been waiting for this book for a while now.
What are you reading this week? Leave me a comment below.
The menu looks delicious, so without further ado, enjoy!
MENU 
MondayBlack Pepper Chicken Stir Fry
TuesdaySpicy Korean Pork Bowls
WednesdayItalian Chicken over Lemony Spaghetti
ThursdayBeef Bulgogi Meatballs
FridaySausage and Rice Skillet
SaturdayCreamy Garlic Parmesan Chicken
SundayLeftovers Night