Jerikay’s Comments (group member since Jan 01, 2023)

Jerikay’s comments from the Chapter Adventure Reading Challenges (Formerly GXO) group.

For May, I read The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks. The Contest or Game in the book is twofold. The most obvious Contest is Bull Riding. The book is about 2 different groups of people. the first, is a bull rider and a college student meet in modern day. The second is about an elderly man who is reminiscing about his life with his deceased wife of 40+ yrs. Near the end of the book, their paths finally cross. The second Game/Contest is the Ride of life itself. It's finding joy in the journey of life and who you take the journey with. I mainly chose the book for the Bull Riding aspect for the challenge. I do recommend if you are a Nicholas Sparks fan. There is also a movie adaptation that follows the main story of the book, with some changes of course. However, the main story is still intact.

For this month, I read The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. It was a short read, only about 130 pages. It is about an elderly fisherman who has gone 86 days without catching a fish. He had an assistant, but he left to work for another fisherman. One day, the elderly fisherman goes out in the early morning in his small boat and ends up hooking a fish. The fish ends up dragging the boat around the sea and out into the ocean for about a day and a half. Then the fisherman finally catches it and brings it back to his island. The entire book is basically one long fishing trip. It is well written, and in fact did win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Definitely a must read if you are into the classics.

For this month, I read The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks. It was a quick, easy read with romance, mystery, thrills, etc. It was about a vet who walked halfway across the country to find a girl in a photo he found in Iraq. Supposedly, the photo gave him good luck and kept him alive during his deployments in the Middle East. He does find the girl, but doesn't tell her right away about the photo, but instead helps her family by taking a job at her grandmother's business and befriending her son. If you like Nicholas Sparks, it is a must read. This book was also made into a movie. It follows the book pretty well with some changes, but the main story line still intact.

I read Come and Get Us by James Patterson and Shan Serafin. It was one of his BookShots. A very quick and thrilling read. It is about a young family going on a trip to meet with one of the husband's clients. On the way, they are ambushed, and the dad is seriously injured. The young daughter has to stay with her dad while the mom goes in search of help. Along the way, she fights off the "bad guys" and finds out more about her husband's work and what the trip is really about.

For April, I read, Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton. I read both the Print version and the Kindle version. I own both, so I read the book when I was home, and the kindle when I was out. lol The Print version is 439 pages long. It was a really quick, easy read, and really good too! Sometimes you need a book that pulls you in and keeps going. I would sit down to read for a few minutes, and next thing you know, I'd read 50 pages easy. The story line was good too. It is about an up and coming musician just starting out and gets her big break. She's also running from her past. I highly recommend.

For April, I read What the Wind Knows, by Amy Harmon. It was so so good!! I highly recommend, if you like historical fiction. It was set in Ireland, which is a plus. It starts out in modern day, 2001, then goes back to 1920s in Ireland. I was pulled in from the start. Highly recommend.

For this months challenge, I went back to my childhood and read Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. This book is about a young eskimo girl who is lost in the Artic and befriends a pack of wolves. I was surprised to find that there were 2 more books written about her and the wolves. I found and read them both this month as well: Julie; and Julie's Wolf Pack.

Julie is about the eskimo girl (her American name is Julie, her eskimo name is Miyax) and adjusting to her father's new life (she reunites with him at the end of the first book). He as taken an American wife (his wife died when Julie was very young), and Julie is torn between keeping with the traditions of her eskimo ancestors, or immerse herself into the ways of modern America - as modern as you can be in Northern Alaska, of course.

Julie's Wolf Pack takes place after Julie, but changes focus to the Wolves. Their adventures - both good and bad - on the tundra. Told from the wolves point of view, we learn their ways of life.

I read Four Friends by Robyn Carr and just finished in the last few minutes of the month :) It was the first book of hers I have read, but it will not be the last! I loved, loved, loved it! It's about 4 friends (duh! lol) that are all trying to juggle family, carrers, friends, etc, just life in general. It really pulled me in and was so much like real life, you feel like you are actually there, going through what they are going through. I highly recommend.

My February read for this challenge was The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Ricahrdson. I really enjoyed it. It is a sequel to The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, that i read last year. The Book Woman's Daughter takes place in the 1950s in eastern Kentucky. The girl's parents are locked up because they are breaking the Miscegenation laws (2 people of different "color" marrying). The Book Woman has the genetic disorder, methemoglobinemia, which causes the skin to turn blue. This book is about her 16 yr old daughter fighting for her freedom. I highly recommend reading this book as well as the first one, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek, in order of course.

I read The Night Garden by Lisa Van Allen. I really enjoyed it. It's about a girl who runs her family farm. The farm has been in her family for generations, there is also a garden maze that her mom started. The farm also draws "boarders" in the summer, women searching for answers from the maze who also work on the farm for room and board in the old, rundown barn. The maze is considered magical, in the sense that if you walk through it you could receive answers to your questions. The girl's dad is still alive and has left the farm to live on another part of their land, away from everyone. The girl is hiding a secret, that only her and her dad know about. The book drew me in and kept me wanting more!

I just finished my book, A Feather on the Water, by Lindsay Jayne Ashford. I really enjoyed it. It takes place at the end of WWII, in a Displaced Persons camp. Three women from different countries and different stages of their lives, are brought together to run the DP camp until their charges could either return to their homeland, or move on to a new life in a different country. It was an emotional roller coaster for sure, at moments heartwarming and endearing, at other times raw and heartbreaking.

Jerikay wrote: "This is my first time doing this challenge. I plan to start with The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. It's been on my TBR list for a while."

I finished my book, The Girl Who Drank the Moon. I enjoyed it. Sometimes I wonder why I wait so long to read something, and this is one of those times. I was definitely an engaging, easy read.

2023 Monthly Key Words

JAN – Crown, Girl, Whisper, Black, Heart, Guide, All, Ever
The Girl Who Drank the Moon ~ Kelly Barnhill

FEB – Please, Might, Return, Shy, Vanish, Book, Ash, Come
The Book Woman's Daughter ~ Kim Michele Richardson

MAR – Crimson, Beyond, Friend, Cry, Wait, Six, Run, Woods
Four Friends ~ Robyn Carr

APR – Vicious, Ask, Wind, Found, Circle, Broken, Beneath, Drown
Paper in the Wind ~ Oliva Mason-Charles
What the Wind Knows ~ Amy Harmon

MAY – Dragon, Day, Chain, Another, Thousand, Begin, Stolen, And
Come and Get Us ~ James Patterson & Shan Serafin
The 13th Day of Christmas ~ Jason F Wright

JUN -Bridge, Everything, Blue, Why, First, Wild, Luck, Tomorrow
The Lucky One ~ Nicholas Sparks

JUL – Final, Clock, This, Way, Poison, Summer, Future, Kiss
Final Hour ~ Dean Koontz
The Clockmaker's Daughter ~ Kate Morton
A Summer in Sonoma ~ Robyn Carr


AUG – Dangerous, Again, Best, Chase, How, Flower, Date, Together
The Best of Me ~ Nicholas Sparks

SEP – Sign, With, Just, Lies, Grace, Enough, Sleep, Name
West with Giraffes ~ Lynda Rutledge
Just Say When ~ Kaylee Ryan

OCT – Old, After, Take, Shadow, Monster, Haunt, Darkness, Of
The Haunting of Brynn Wilder ~ Wendy Webb

NOV – Paris, Hidden, Sparrow, Realm, Two, Fair, Street, Say
DEC – Silver, Wish, Forgotten, Dance, Also, My, Fate, Dream




2023 Monthly Motif Challenge
JANUARY- New Year, New Direction - “Read a book with one, or more, ‘directional’ words in the title.”
A Feather on the Water ~ Lindsay Jane Ashford

FEBRUARY- If You Have A Garden and a Library… “Read a book with a plant or flower on the cover.”
The Night Garden ~ Lisa Van Allen

MARCH- Animal, Number, Color, Name - “Read a book with an animal, number, color, or name in the title.“
Julie of the Wolves ~ Jean Craighead Wolves
Julie ~ Jean Craighead George
Julie's Wolf Pack ~ Jean Craighead George

APRIL- I Like Big Books - “Read a book over 400 pages long or listen to an audiobook over 14 hrs long.”
Run, Rose Run ~ James Patterson & Dolly Parton

MAY- In It To Win It - “Read a book that involves a game or contest of some sort."
The Longest Ride ~ Nicholas Sparks

JUNE- Take the Plunge - “Read a book from any genre that is set on or near a body of water.”
The Old Man and the Sea ~ Ernest Hemingway
Carry On, Mr Bowditch ~ Jean Lee Latham


JULY- I Need Only One Word - “Read a book with only one word as the title.”
Toyland ~ Tony Bertauski


AUGUST- A Book and a Song - “Read a book with the same title as a song you’ve heard.”
The Coalminer's Daughter ~ Loretta Lynn and George Vecsey

SEPTEMBER- Speculative Stories - “Read a book from the speculative fiction subgenre”

OCTOBER- Spellbinding or Spooktacular - “Read a book that involves something spooky or magical or both.”
The Ocean at the End of the Lane ~ Neil Gaiman

NOVEMBER- Around OR Out of this World - “Read a book set in a country other than the one you live in OR read a book that takes place in space or on another planet.”

DECEMBER- White-out - “Read a book with a wintery setting or a book with a mostly white cover.

This is my first time doing this challenge. I plan to start with The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. It's been on my TBR list for a while.