It’s already, September!?! What have you been reading?

It’s another Monday, this one is a holiday, and the day before the first day of school here in BC. But, because this is 2020, and she likes to do things in ways that are different from ever before. No students tomorrow. Our return to work plan needs more work, so educators will go it alone for two days here in BC, and try to work out all the details in order to give the plan the best chance of success when we welcome kids back into our buildings on Thursday.

A little less pressure not having students tomorrow (but I still feel the pressure of not being sure how to make this work properly later in the week) is probably a factor in me finding the time to write this post. I am linking up with our great hosts at Teach Mentor Texts (thanks Jen) and Unleashing Readers (thanks Kellee and Ricki). I managed to finish a couple of books late in the week, although I did find it hard to concentrate on reading with my focus on news being a little too high, and my other release from that (aside from reading) taking lots of time (watching playoff hockey and basketball- which I miss playing).

Books I Enjoyed This Week

I really enjoyed reading an e-ARC through Edelweiss+ of this second book featuring Kevin the Unicorn. The art is really bright and eye catching, but there are also many little details that relate to the story hiding in plain sight. In the story, Kevin really wants to be besties with the new unicorn moving in, but it just doesn’t work. They don’t like the same things, and that is okay. Once they are honest with one another, they figure out they can be friendly, if not besties.
Great story, full of some fun word play. We should start seeing this in stores on Tuesday.

Not really kidlit, I know, but a few of you got me on to this series. When I rated on Goodreads, I saw Cherie’s review and it was nearly exactly what I was feeling. I did not love this second book as much as the first, but I am kind of hooked, in my case, I would say I am hooked on this character. I would read what it thought about grocery shopping.

This has been one of the most difficult books for me to read. I heard about it a long time ago. My school Skyped with Dusti Bowling and chatted about it. I was ready to grab it as soon as I could. I asked on NetGalley and got no reply for months. I switched to Edelweiss + (so much easier for me to get books on so far) and got accepted right away. But, the download to Kindle did not work. So, I tried Adobe Digital Editions and it did not work (first time for me). Customer service tried, but to no avail. Finally, a couple of weeks later, and after I had given up, a different book loaded to something called Bluefire Reader, and I thought, well why not try The Canyon’s Edge again. Good idea, for once.

It is a powerful story about a girl, Nora, living after trauma but not really living. When she and her father are caught in a flash flood while hiking in a slot canyon, she has to fight to live. She battles against nearly everything the desert could throw at her (and if you know Dusti Bowling books, you know few, if any, writers can tell a story in a desert so well. She battles the dark thoughts in her head as only a survivor of earlier trauma would have to. In doing so, she discovers that she truly wants to live and that she has much left to do with her life.
The story is mostly told in-verse and is beautifully written as we slowly begin to know much of what Nora has been through and how she can begin to grow again. And, thanks to Edelweiss + for allowing me the chance to read this book, which comes out on Tuesday.

I probably should have already read one of the Max books, in which Max explains something that he has become an expert at to the reader, in this case, owning a puppy. But, I haven’t. This was a cute and fun way to learn alongside a boy about what it really takes to be a puppy owner. We see the good and the bad. Kids should be able to relate to this if they have ever been through pet ownership and will learn something if they haven’t. I need to seek out the others in this series.

Currently Reading and On Deck Reads

The second in the series of books that spun off of John Flanagan’s Ranger’s Apprentice series. These books take place a generation after the first series, and are called The Royal Ranger books. The best part is that there is a female main character. There were a few secondary characters in his first series, but well away from most of the action. I read the first quite a while ago, but my youngest is getting me back into them. She really enjoys these and it has been a while but I did too.

This is our latest family read aloud. It is a re-read for me, the debut of one of my favourite authors, Rebecca Stead.

I was supposed to start this one last week, but I am a little distracted by getting e-ARCs. Maybe this week? It feels like it is going to be busy though.

Thanks for stopping here to see what I have been reading, I hope to be better about reading other blogs this week. I just moved through a lot of them today. Hopefully, many of you had a great relaxing long weekend, and are starting a fabulous reading week.