I loved a lot of this book. It was a cute rom-com story based on the fabulous The Shop Around the Corner (which is also the basis for the very good, You’ve Got Mail). Strangers who start up an anonymous pen pal relationship and fall for each other suddenly meet in real life, where things aren’t as perfect. Here, we have Bailey Rydell, moving across the country to live with her dad for her senior year of high school. Her parents are divorced, and she […]
“Never give up on your dreams, and never let anyone tell you that what you love is inconsequential or useless or a waste of time. Because if you love it?…That is never a waste of time.”
Sigh. I really wanted to love this quirky and cute little book. And for a little while, I did. A modern, geeky take on Cinderella? A love story where the interaction takes place mostly over text? Cons and Cosplay? It all sounded great. The first two-thirds of this story worked for me. Elle lives with her horrible step-mother and horrible twin step-sisters in the house where she grew up. Her mother died when she was really young and her father died a few years ago, […]
Time was a face on the water, and like the great river before them, it did nothing but flow.
I’ve been in the car a lot lately, driving around for work. And while I love my satellite radio, I love my audible account even more. I’m listening to all of my favorite books, and it totally makes the time spent in the car seem less like work. This morning, I finished The Wind Through the Keyhole (and started The Wolves of the Calla!), and I must say, I enjoyed it much more this time (my second time reading and reviewing…the first was for CBR4!). […]
“I hate this idea that boys are thinking about sex nonstop and girls are thinking about – what? Stationery and garden gnomes? No.”
Back in 2016, the CBR hivemind recommended Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy. I tore through it and adored it, and thought that Julie Murphy had the potential to be a great voice in modern, southern YA. She wrote about rural southern life so vividly, and made even the most uncomfortable topics easy to digest. Ramona Blue is her follow up novel, and I’m happy to report that it’s just as good as Dumplin’. Ramona (who has blue hair, but is called Ramona Blue because of her […]