Winner of Medina Hill!

The winner of Medina Hill is Orchid! Yay!

I have emailed you, please respond with your mailing address by this Thursday the 19th! Thanks!

Just Grace and the Snack Attack by Charise Mericle Harper

Amazon.com:

After reading this new book about Just Grace you will know how to . . .

1. turn your favorite potato chips into a tasty chipwich.
2. draw and fold up your very own zine, which is a cool little book made from only one piece of paper.
3. look for and use the special powers of the wish chip.

This book will not help you know how to . . .

1. do fancy hairstyles for your cat.
2. make a flower garden in your room.
3. bake a four- or even five-layer cake.

But this book might make you feel a little bit hungry, and if it does, then you will know you are having a “snack attack” just like Grace!

Move over Judy Moody, Amber Brown and Clementine, there's a new spunky third grader on the block! Learn more about Just Grace at www.justgracebooks.com

I will admit that this book interested me because of the doodles on the cover and that it promised you would "Learn How to Make A Zine Inside!" Being all about cute illustration and zines I knew that this had to be a good time and I was definitely right.

While I'm far older than the intended audience for this book (elementary age) I could still appreciate the story and the accompanying doodles. Just Grace and the Snack Attack is the only book I've read out of the Just Grace series but it read fine as a stand alone for me. I loved the idea of exploring different ethnic foods, it's definitely a great topic for young children to be exposed to. It also talks about things such as family, friendship, what happens when you do something wrong, jealous and other things that are important for kids to learn about.

As far as reading level goes I'd say this would be the step between learning to read simple chapter books and full blown chapter books. The type is rather large on the page and while it isn't split into chapters it's split into small sections with their own headings such as "Eating Lunch" and the doodles also help break up the story.

Just Grace and the Snack Attack will be released on December 14th
Genre: Childrens
4/5 Stars
ARC provided by Amazon Vine

Luv Ya Bunches by Lauren Myracle

Amazon.com:

What do Katie-Rose, Yasaman, Milla, and Violet all have in common? Other than being named after flowers, practically nothing. Katie-Rose is a film director in training. Yasaman is a computer whiz. Milla is third in command of the A list. And Violet is the new girl in school. They’re fab girls, all of them, but they sure aren’t friends. And if evil queen bee Medusa— ’scuse me, Modessa—has her way, they never will be. But this is the beginning of a new school year, when anything can happen and social worlds can collide . . .

Told in Lauren Myracle’s inventive narrative style—here a fresh mix of instant messages, blog posts, screenplay, and straight narrative—Luv Ya Bunches, the first in a four-book series, is a funny, honest depiction of the shifting alliances and rivalries that shape school days, and of the lasting friendships that blossom from the skirmishes.

I loved the diversity in Luv Ya Bunches, from the characters ethnic backgrounds, to their home situations, to their friends at school, these four girls realize that none of that matters when it comes to true friendship. I also loved the diversity of storytelling methods such as IM conversations, screenplay format, and regular narrative. While format changes are a personal favorite of mine I think they also work well for reluctant readers.

While I had to keep reminding myself that the girls were 5th graders and not in junior high (I guess things were different when I was their age!) I think this story of friendship can be appreciate by anyone from late elementary school age to junior high and beyond, I mean heck I'm nowhere near their ages and I enjoyed reading it!

While I liked all of the characters, personally my favorite character was Yasaman. She's a bit of a loner, a computer/internet guru and a Muslim. It's very exciting to see more and more Muslim characters in young adult and childrens books recently. I'm also excited that this is a start of a series and that we will get to know a lot more about this group of new friends!

Luv Ya Bunches was released on October 1st
Genre: Middle Grade
4/5 Stars
ARC provided by publisher

This Week In Books Or Can You Believe I Didn't Go to the Library Book Store This Week Either?!

Monday: nothing

Tuesday: nothing

Wednesday:

Muhajababes by Allegra Stratton

I got this off of the Free Books cart at the coffee shop across the street. The books are provided by a book distributor in the building. This book sounds amazing and sounds exactly like what I've been looking for over the last few years.

Thursday:

Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

For review! Might need to refresh myself on the ending of The Nanny Diaries before starting this one.

Friday:

Raiders' Ransom by Emily Diamand

For review!

Saturday: nothing

Lookalikes 75

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson

Personally I'm in love with the overall softness in Not the End of the World. From the colors to the beautiful out of focus background and curtains this cover relaxes me and is therefor my winner!

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Thanks to Deborah who also noticed this lookalike!

The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship by Andrea Israel & Nancy Garfinkel

Amazon.com:
Loyalty, loss, and the ties that bind. These are the ingredients of The Recipe Club, a "novel cookbook" that combines an authentic story of friendship with more than 80 delicious recipes.

Lilly and Val are lifelong friends, united as much by their differences as by their similarities. Lilly, dramatic and confident, lives in the shadow of her beautiful, wayward mother and craves the attention of her distant, disapproving father. Val, shy and idealistic—and surprisingly ambitious— struggles with her desire to break free from her demanding housebound mother and a father whose dreams never seem to come true.

In childhood, "LillyPad" and "ValPal" form an exclusive two-person club, writing intimate letters in which they share hopes, fears, deepest secrets—and recipes, from Lilly's "Lovelorn Lasagna" to Valerie's "Forgiveness Tapenade." Readers can cook along as the friends travel through time facing the challenges of independence, the joys and heartbreaks of first love, and the emotional complexities of family relationships, identity, mortality, and goals deferred.

The Recipe Club sustains Lilly and Val's bond through the decades, regardless of what different paths they take or what misunderstandings threaten to break them apart . . . until the fateful day when an act of kindness becomes an unforgivable betrayal.

Now, years later, while trying to recapture the trust they've lost, Lilly and Val reunite once more—only to uncover a shocking secret. Will it destroy their friendship, or bring them ever closer?

The Recipe Club was an interesting story of friendship, family and food told through letters, emails, recipes and also some prose. It jumps from the early twenty-first century to 60s-70s and back again, all revolving around two friends and their rough but caring relationship.

I love how the story unfolds, it starts after Lilly and Val haven't spoken in more than two decades and then goes back to their childhood when they started the recipe club. It follows them through school and into college where they eventually stop speaking to each other. And we think we know the cause of their friendship unraveling but then find out things even they themselves didn't know. It definitely shocked me. The Recipe Club really makes you think a lot about family dynamics and also what a true friendship is, it's not always sunshine and rainbows.

I was definitely drawn to the story because of the back and forth letters from Lilly and Val and the story did not disappoint. I also loved how the recipes were worked into the storyline and really how you could use this as a cookbook as well.

Overall a great and touching story told in an original way!

The Recipe Club was released on October 14th
Genre: Fiction/Recipes
4/5 Stars
ARC provided by publicity company

"Waiting On" Wednesday 56

Cool Beans: A Maya Davis Novel by Erynn Mangum

ErynnMangum.com:

Maya Davis couldn't imagine a better life - she's a barista at her favorite coffeehouse, she's got two amazing best friends, Jack and Jen, and she's got a standing dinner date with her parents every Sunday night.

At least, she can't imagine a better life until Jen starts unknowingly dating Maya's high school sweetheart (whom she nearly married), her genius doctor of a brother moves back into town and ruins her Sunday dinners, and now her dog's picked up a weird Pilates obsession.

Can Maya learn to trust God even when it seems like only an endless bowl of fudge-covered ice cream will help?

Released April 1st 2010

Sounds like a lot of fun to me! I'm not sure if I've ever read any Christian Fiction, but lately the genre has had a lot that seems interesting and fun to me! Who says a non-christian can't enjoy it too! :)

What can't you wait for to be released?

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Green Books Campaign: Celebrate Green! by Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell

Today I'm excited to be part of a very exciting and original blog tour!

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

Amazon.com:

Celebrate Green! offers tips, strategies and ideas for creating celebrations with more meaning and less negative impact on people and the Earth. Whether planning a wedding, a Thanksgiving feast, an Easter egg hunt or any of dozens of other celebrations, this book is a font of creative, engaging activities and memory-builders for the entire family. From food, to decor, to gifts for people in every stage of life, you'll be astonished by the easy, inexpensive and even free ways to make every occasion eco-friendly and fun.

Celebrate Green! offers up a variety of ideas for how to make your life more "green". It offers many many ideas split up by season and celebration, from major holidays to special events such as weddings or family reunions. There is something in this book you can most definitely use. The book itself was printed on FSC-certified paper and recycled paper so it is doing its part!

There is a vast amount of information in this book from recipes, environmental facts, websites to visit, and decoration ideas. Basically anything you would find in a regular "ideas for the holidays" book you will find here. And because of this, I think it would be fairly easy for anyone willing to try things a little differently to make small or big steps towards going green with this book.

As far as how the book is laid out I like that it is split up by occasion but also season. The use of bullet points and call outs make it an easy book to flip through and find what you want. The book is printed in green and brown ink. There are graphics and a few pictures but I could have used far far more pictures. Pictures are what will get me to stop on a certain page if I'm not looking for something specific, it draws the eye in. But overall this is a great book that makes going green easy by using baby steps.

Celebrate Green! was released on October 1st 2008
Genre: Holidays/Environmental
4/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

Hardcover vs Paperback 54

The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman

Hardcover

Paperback

Amazon.com:

Honor lives in a dystopian world ruled by benevolent Earth Mother, where conformity is prized, the world is peaceful, and the Corporation has controlled the weather since the Flood. But Honor's parents dare to be different, having a second child and pressuring Honor to remember things everyone else is trying to forget. By the time Honor is 13, she cannot understand why her parents refuse to follow the rules, even as she becomes more grimly determined to be the perfect student. For a slightly younger age group than the current crop of dystopian and apocalyptic novels, the book is at its best when it's inside Honor's head, as she struggles to balance her parents' unorthodoxy with her craving to belong. Information about how this new world came to be is teasingly dispensed, and that, too, will keep readers engaged. Less successful is a daring, yet sometimes confusing, rescue at the story's conclusion. Still, as with many books in the genre, this offers readers plenty to consider, including how they might react in Honor's place.

I'm torn. The hardcover instantly says dystopia to me but the paperback is more clever when you know what the book is about. But that's the problem, the paperback doesn't work unless you know what the book is about, at least I think. The title gives you a hint though. The hardcover says more young adult to me than the paperback though. I don't think I can choose one of the other!

Hardcover or Paperback?

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

My Wonderful World of Fashion: A Book For Drawing, Creating, and Dreaming by Nina Chakrabarti

Amazon.com:

An interactive coloring book for fashionistas of all ages, My Wonderful World of Fashion is packed with beautiful and sophisticated illustrations specially created by the leading fashion-illustrator Nina Chakrabarti. The book encourages creativity, with illustrations to color in and designs to finish off, as well as simple ideas for making and doing (how to make a sari, turn a napkin into a headscarf, dye a T-shirt, and so on). Covering clothing, shoes, bags, jewelry, and other accessories, the illustrations span both vintage fashions—drawing on beautiful and interesting objects from past ages—and contemporary designs from the illustrator's own imagination. 'Did you know...?' features that give brief historical notes encourage children to be inspired by history and by other cultures. A wonderful celebration of fashion, the book will appeal to fashion addicts from 8 years plus.

My Wonderful World of Fashion is flat out awesome. Though it is marketed for children 8 and up I thought it was fabulous. I think anyone interested in sketching, fashion, illustration, patterns or just a cool book to look at for inspiration for drawing would appreciate it. It sure made me want to sit down and draw.

Chakrabarti definitely has a talent for showcasing so much all under the umbrella of fashion. From a brief history of fashion to intricate patterns to giving people the confidence to create their own there is a diverse range of activities in this book. I love how detailed or simple her illustrations can be. They are beautiful and very inspiring.

My one suggestion for this book would be perhaps a different sort of binding that allowed for the book to lay open flat on its own for ease of use. I also think that after awhile the binding might crack. Personally I wouldn't want to make one mark in the book because it is so beautiful on its own but would love to perhaps make a copy of a page so I could complete the activity that way without ruining the book but the binding doesn't really allow for that. Tear out pages would have also been a great idea. The pages are definitely thick enough that they could hold up to coloring.

Overall I am extremely impressed with Chakrabarti's illustrations and ideas and I will definitely be watching to see what she comes up with next.

My Wonderful World of Fashion was released on September 23rd.
Genre: Coloring Book/Illustration
4.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by Amazon Vine
Nina Chakrabarti website
Sample Spreads

The Espressologist by Kristina Springer

Amazon.com:

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right? With overtones of Jane Austen’s Emma and brimming with humor and heart, this sweet, frothy debut will be savored by readers.

The Espressologist was a simple and sweet story. The whole plot is anchored by Jane's Espressology which was very clever and original. It made for a very fun storyline. It totally made me crave some hot chocolate and also made me curious about some of the drinks that are mentioned in the story that you don't normally see on the menu at your local coffee shop!

While it was pretty obvious where the story was going I had a great time getting there. Lots of cute boys, sweet boys and great times with friends. I wish the relationship that comes to be at the ending was developed a little more though, making the ending more realistic. Regardless, this is a perfect book for the holidays, sure made me want to sit down with a warm cup of hot chocolate!

The Espressologist was released on October 27th
Genre: Young Adult
3.5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

This Week In Books Or How This Was Almost A One Book Week!

Monday: nothing

Tuesday: nothing

Wednesday:

My Invented Life by Lauren Bjorkman

Thursday: nothing

Friday: nothing

Saturday:

So the mail came early in the day, I was expecting 2 Amazon packages and they didn't arrive. Irish/Gail pointed out that maybe there was going to be a late delivery today so I waited and sure enough there was! I was kind of excited to be able to post a one book week, but alas it wasn't meant to be.

Felties by Nelly Pailloux
Splendor by Anna Godbersen
The Grammar Devotional by Mignon Fogarty

Felties is what I was really waiting for. I'm going to try and make one or a few, depending on how it goes this weekend! These all came from Amazon.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
Eragon's Guide to Alagaesia by Christopher Paolini

These came from review. What are your thoughts on Paolini's books? I don't know much about them but do believe I saw the movie version of Eragon.

Lookalikes 74

A Version of the Truth by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack

The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Fredrick

Much Ado About Anne (The Mother Daughter Book Club) by Heather Vogel Fredrick

UPDATE: Thanks to Bookworm who pointed out there is a third book in the series!

Dear Pen Pal (The Mother Daughter Book Club) by Heather Vogel Fredrick

Ok so obviously the last two are from the same series so the real comparison is between the first one and the second two as a pair. I definitely like them all and think they are a lot of fun, so much so that I would like to read them knowing next to nothing about them, but I will have to go with the first cover as my winner. I love the wallpaper, that's what it comes down to and the fact that the picture is more believable (less books on her head).

Which do you prefer?

Have you spotted a Lookalike you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

Thanks to Deborah who also noticed this lookalike!

GIVEAWAY: Blue Plate Special

Now that you've had a chance to see my thoughts on Blue Plate Special, I'd like to give you a chance to win a copy of the book!

If you need a reminder here's the blurb:

Amazon.com:

Doomed loves, failed families, nixed dreams—someone else's leftovers are heaped on our plates the day we come into this world.

Big Macs and pop tunes mask the emptiness as Madeline watches her mom drink away their welfare checks. Until the day Tad, a quirky McDonald's counter boy, asks Madeline out for a date, and she gets her first taste of normal. But with a life that's anything but, how long can normal really last?

Hanging with Jeremy, avoiding Mam, sticking Do Not Disturb Post-its on her heart, Desiree's mission is simple: party hard, graduate (well, maybe), get out of town. But after Desiree accepts half a meatball grinder, a cold drink, and a ride from her mother's boyfriend one rainy afternoon, nothing is ever simple again.

Too many AP classes. Workaholic mom. Dad in prison. Still, Ariel's sultry new boyfriend, Shane, manages to make even the worst days delicious. But when an unexpected phone call forces a trip to visit a sick grandmother she's never met, revealing her family's dark past, Ariel struggles to find the courage to make the right choice for her own future.

Three girls from three different decades find out it's what they do with their leftovers that matters—because, after all, life is your own blue plate special.

Here's how to enter to win Blue Plate Special!

Leave a comment letting me know why you like books with rotating perspectives or alternate viewpoints?

For 1 additional entry, blog (sidebar is fine) or tweet (@reply me @mint910) about this contest and leave a separate comment here linking to your post or tweet (only one additional entry total).

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S and Canada.

Please leave a way for me to contact you if you are the winner!

The giveaway will end November 19th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

Blue Plate Special by Michelle D. Kwasney

Amazon.com:

Doomed loves, failed families, nixed dreams—someone else's leftovers are heaped on our plates the day we come into this world.

Big Macs and pop tunes mask the emptiness as Madeline watches her mom drink away their welfare checks. Until the day Tad, a quirky McDonald's counter boy, asks Madeline out for a date, and she gets her first taste of normal. But with a life that's anything but, how long can normal really last?

Hanging with Jeremy, avoiding Mam, sticking Do Not Disturb Post-its on her heart, Desiree's mission is simple: party hard, graduate (well, maybe), get out of town. But after Desiree accepts half a meatball grinder, a cold drink, and a ride from her mother's boyfriend one rainy afternoon, nothing is ever simple again.

Too many AP classes. Workaholic mom. Dad in prison. Still, Ariel's sultry new boyfriend, Shane, manages to make even the worst days delicious. But when an unexpected phone call forces a trip to visit a sick grandmother she's never met, revealing her family's dark past, Ariel struggles to find the courage to make the right choice for her own future.

Three girls from three different decades find out it's what they do with their leftovers that matters—because, after all, life is your own blue plate special.

Blue Plate Special is best if you go into it knowing nothing more than what you read on the jacket flap. It will reveal itself to you bit by bit until you are left sitting there stunned and extremely impressed, at least I think so. Unfortunately for me I knew a bit more than what the jacket tells you but it didn't matter. It just gave me a few more clues to work with. I was still very very impressed with Kwasney's ability to weave these three stories together. It's heartbreaking, honest, raw and real.

All three girls have rough lives for one reason or another. While there was just a tad bit of overlapping in their struggles (a dilemma or two were similar for two of the girls) I thought Kwansney did a great job of distinguishing their voices and making them all likeable. I thought it was a nice touch that Desiree's part was written in verse. She used far fewer words but you get to know her just as well as the other girls.

I think Blue Plate Special is a book that begs to be read a second time. Once reading it you know a lot more than when you started and reading it a second time would allow you to put together the pieces as you read, more so and start to notice things you might have missed the first time.

This is a book that will stick with me and I was extremely impressed by it.

Blue Plate Special was released on September 23rd
Genre: Young Adult
5/5 Stars
Review copy provided by the publisher

"Waiting On" Wednesday 55

The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate

MelissaSenate.com:

THE SECRET OF JOY is about 28-year-old New Yorker Rebecca Strand who discovers, via her father's deathbed confession, that she has a 26-year-old half-sister she never knew existed. Off she goes to a small coastal town in Maine to find her. She doesn't exactly receive the warmest welcome–except by the loveable, quirky locals…and a sexy carpenter named Theo. Booklist magazine calls THE SECRET OF JOY: "Another warm, winning entry from popular chick-lit author Senate."

Released November 16th 2009

Sounds cute with a touch of serious! Definitely looks like something I would like!

What can't you wait for to be released?

"Waiting On" Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Hardcover vs Paperback 53

The Richest Season by Maryann McFadden

Hardcover

Paperback

Self Published Cover

Amazon.com:

Sometimes you have to leave your life to find yourself again . . .

After more than a dozen moves in twenty-five years of marriage, Joanna Harrison is lonely and tired of being a corporate wife. Her children are grown and gone, her husband is more married to his job than to her, and now they're about to pack up once more. Panicked at the thought of having to start all over again, Joanna commits the first irresponsible act of her life. She runs away to Pawleys Island, South Carolina, a place she's been to just once.

She finds a job as a live-in companion to Grace Finelli, a widow who has come to the island to fulfill a girlhood dream. Together the two women embark on the most difficult journey of their lives: Joanna struggling for independence, roots, and a future of her own, as her family tugs at her from afar; and Grace, choosing to live the remainder of her life for herself alone, knowing she may never see her children again.

Entwined is Paul Harrison's story as he loses his wife, his job, and everything that defines him as a man. He takes off on his own journey out west, searching for the answers to all that has gone wrong in his life. One thing remains constant: He wants his wife back.

Joanna, however, is moving farther away from her old life as she joins a group dedicated to rescuing endangered loggerhead turtles, led by a charismatic fisherman unlike anyone she's ever met.

The Richest Season is a stunning debut about three very different people, each changing their lives when such transformations are usually long over. It will resonate with any woman who's ever fantasized about leaving home to find herself.

The Richest Season was originally self published so that's what the last cover, thanks Courtney Summers! This is an extremely easy choice for me, the paperback and I will tell you why. Over the past few years more and more books are going to route of things in the palms of someone's hands. It's gotten to the point where I am confusing multiple books. I'm actually starting a collection of these types of covers so feel free to email me if you want to add one to the collection, which I will post at some point in time. I'm not going to say it all started with Twilight but that's one of the earliest ones I can recall at this point. The paperback is a little generic as well but I do like the colors and simplicity of it.

Hardcover or Paperback?

Have you spotted a Hardcover vs. Paperback you would like to contribute? Send me an email!

GIVEAWAY: Medina Hill

Now that you've had a chance to see my thoughts on Medina Hill, I'd like to give you a chance to win your copy of the book!

If you need a reminder here's the blurb:

TundraBooks.com:

In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall. There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a death grip on her copy of The New Art of Cooking, and Dominic, armed with Incredible Adventures for Boys: Colonel Lawrence and the Revolt in the Desert, find a way of life unlike any they have known. Dominic’s passion for Lawrence of Arabia is tested when he finds himself embroiled in a village uprising against a band of travelers who face expulsion. In defending the vulnerable, Dominic learns what it truly means to have a voice.

Trilby Kent brilliantly handles a far-off time and place to present a story of up-to-the-minute relevance.

Here's how to enter to win Medina Hill!

Leave a comment letting me know what about this book makes you want to read it? Or if you have already read it, what you liked about it (no spoilers please!)

For 1 additional entry, blog (sidebar is fine) or tweet (@reply me @mint910) about this contest and leave a separate comment here linking to your post or tweet (only one additional entry total).

The giveaway is open to addresses within the U.S and Canada.

Please leave a way for me to contact you if you are the winner!

The giveaway will end November 16th at 6:59 pm Central Time.

BLOG TOUR: Medina Hill by Trilby Kent

TundraBooks.com:

In the grimy London of 1935, eleven-year-old Dominic Walker has lost his voice. His mother is sick and his father’s unemployed. Rescue comes in the form of his Uncle Roo, who arrives to take him and his young sister, Marlo, to Cornwall. There, in a boarding house populated by eccentric residents, Marlo, who keeps a death grip on her copy of The New Art of Cooking, and Dominic, armed with Incredible Adventures for Boys: Colonel Lawrence and the Revolt in the Desert, find a way of life unlike any they have known. Dominic’s passion for Lawrence of Arabia is tested when he finds himself embroiled in a village uprising against a band of travelers who face expulsion. In defending the vulnerable, Dominic learns what it truly means to have a voice.

Trilby Kent brilliantly handles a far-off time and place to present a story of up-to-the-minute relevance.

Medina Hill was a piece of young adult historical fiction that brings a lot of elements together including family, injustice, friendship, and leadership. I think it would be a perfect book for a middle school aged boy and maybe even girl that is interested in historical fiction.

While I appreciated all the different elements and themes the author brought together (such as a mis-matched group of residents that live in the Medina Hill boarding house, the Gypsy girl that Dominic befriends, and Dominic's love of Lawrence of Arabia) there were so many different parts that I didn't know really want to focus on and I don't think I got as much from any of the plots like I had expected. I definitely wanted to know more about the residents of the boarding house and Dominic's aunt and uncle.

I think of all the plots the one of Dominic and his Gypsy friend Sancha was the most complete. Their friendship made sense and was genuine. And I do think that the way the story unfolds is clever, how it uses all the different plot points and helps Dominic really find his voice. I also liked Dominic's sister Marlo and the personal journey that she goes through while in Medina Hill.

Overall a young adult historical pick for a middle-schooler that explores a lot of topics!

Medina Hill was released on October 13th
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction
3/5 Stars
Review copy provided by publisher for tour
Amazon Link

BLOG TOUR: Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have by Allen Zadoff Review

Welcome to another Traveling to Teens blog tour! This is part 2 of 2 posts for this tour.

Amazon.com:

What’s worse than being fat your freshman year?

Being fat your sophomore year.

Life used to be so simple for Andrew Zansky–hang with the Model UN guys, avoid gym class, and eat and eat and eat. He’s used to not fitting in: into his family, his sports-crazed school, or his size 48 pants.

But not anymore. Andrew just met April, the new girl at school and the instant love of his life! He wants to find a way to win her over, but how? When O. Douglas, the heartthrob quarterback and high-school legend, saves him from getting beaten up by the school bully, Andrew sees his chance to get in with the football squad.

Is it possible to reinvent yourself in the middle of high school? Andrew is willing to try. But he’s going to have to make some changes. Fast.

Can a funny fat kid be friends with a football superstar? Can he win over the Girl of his Dreams? Can he find a way to get his mom and dad back together?

How far should you go to be the person you really want to be?

Andrew is about to find out.

Food, Girls and Other Things I Can't Have is a wonderful, heartbreaking, honest, and hilarious story. It has something for everyone and it written in short chapters. I found myself wondering how I had read so much so quickly. While I don't really care for sports at all I could definitely respect Andy's journey to find himself, which included football. He's unhappy with his life and he goes out there and tries to find something new that works for him. Through this journey we meet a bunch of classmates including beautiful April and O. the star football player and Eytan the buddy Andy ditches while trying to find himself.

I loved Andy's voice, he is able to bring humor to every situation. I definitely find Andy relatable in the sense that I know what it's like to be uncomfortable in my skin or my clothes, Zadoff captures that frustration perfectly. Andy also has to deal with divorced parents and a younger sister that is much more popular than him (who I just love). The beauty of this story is he wants more for himself and goes out there and finds it.

The ending isn't what I had originally expected but it did feel right. I will point out though, that the ending was wrapped up much to quickly, leaving me with several questions and providing a transition that could have been a lot smoother in my opinion. But overall I great story! I can't wait to see what Zadoff comes up with next!

Food, Girls, and Other Things I Can't Have was released September 8th
Genre: Young Adult
4.5/5 Stars
ARC from book swap