Month: August 2019

The Gifted School by Bruce Holsinger

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The Details

The Gifted School is about four families who met when their kids were all toddlers. Now, the kids are around 10 and extremely gifted in their own ways. When it’s announced that a new elite magnet school for gifted kids will be built in the town, the friendships are put to the test. The parents go to great extremes to try and ensure their child’s admittance to Crystal Academy, but at what cost?

Honestly, this book was a little difficult for me to get in to, but not for long! The Gifted School takes place from about six of the main character’s perspectives interchangeably throughout (one character per chapter). It’s not difficult to tell who is talking at the time, but it took me a minute to pick up on the format and what character goes with what family. The summary I read had me determined to read this book and I am so glad I did! It was interesting to see how something like a magnet school that you would think would be a great addition to a town and these families’ lives really effects everyone involved. Such a great book overall and well worth the read!

The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The Details

After a very rough breakup with her now ex-boyfriend, Tiffy needs a place to stay. Her job as an editor at a publishing company for DIY books pays poorly and her housing options are limited. Tiffy finds an ad for a flatshare that seems promising- Leon works the night shift and is gone on weekends, so they would never see each other even though they would technically live together.

Y’ALL. The Flatshare made it straight on to my list of all-time favorite books. It is so stinkin’ sweet! Tiffy reminds me of Lou from Me Before You so I was instantly sold. I had read the summary of The Flatshare and couldn’t wait to read it, so I was very excited when I found this at my library! This is such a cute story. The chapters go back and forth between Tiffy and Leon narrating, but this did not cause any confusion. I love that the author wrote each character’s chapter in a different style that fit perfectly with their personalities. I love the relationship between Tiffy and Leon and the side-issues they both deal with throughout the book. The Flatshare was a sweet, quick read that I’m sure I’ll be wanting to read again and again! 😍

Lemon Lavender is not Fine by Elle Palmore

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The Details

Lemon Lavender cannot catch a break. First, you have her name- once you hear it, you never forget it. This isn’t good for a girl who just wants to stay out of the spotlight. Lemon’s seemingly perfect sister, Meg, drops out of college and heads for Europe, cutting all ties with her family along the way. The entire Lavender family struggles to find their new normal after this. Lemon is now trying to make it through high school drama, cute boys (Graham 😍), and now running her household.

Elle Pallmore did such a great job writing the characters in this book, that I found myself so hurt when things weren’t going Lemon’s way! I honestly had to put the book down a handful of times out of frustration for poor Lemon. My heart hurt so badly for her for the bulk of the book, but I was thrilled with the ending! Everything wraps up perfectly and left me cheering for Lemon. I love that the ending gives me room to imagine what Lemon could be up to now.

Thank you to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC of this book. This was a voluntary review.

The Tea Dragon Festival by Katie O’Neill

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The Details

The Tea Dragon Festival is the “companion story” to Katie O’Neill’s graphic novel The Tea Dragon Society. Admittedly, I have not read the Tea Dragon Society, but I feel like The Tea Dragon Festival stands alone perfectly!

This graphic novel follows Rinn, who lives in a village among the cutest little creatures called Tea Dragons. One day, while out gathering ingredients for some of her town’s signature dishes, she discovers a dragon of the “Shining Wing Clan”, Aedhan. Aedhan was sent to protect the village, but has been asleep in the forest for 80 years. Rinn is determined to help Aedhan feel needed and appreciated while also helping the village prepare for their Tea Dragon Festival, celebrating the little dragons that live among them.

I love a diverse story. I can’t say it enough. The Tea Dragon Festival really hit the spot for me! This is the first time I have seen sign language utilized in a graphic novel as well and I was so excited! Although this was not a very action-packed novel, it was full of character development and background and I loved it. This would be a perfect read for a cozy day.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the ARC of this book. This was a voluntary review.

Date Night by Samantha Hayes

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The Details

After Libby finds a note on her car’s windshield accusing her husband of having an affair, they plan a date night to try to get their relationship back on track. The date doesn’t go over as planned and the night just keeps getting worse when Libby and Sean come home to find that their babysitter, Sasha is missing. Not long after, Libby is accused of her murder. What really happened to Sasha?

I was so excited to get the opportunity to read Date Night! I’m a sucker for a good thriller and the summary for this really caught my interest. I absolutely loved it! The author keeps you guessing all the way through the epilogue, which I really appreciated. I feel like I can normally gather some sort of a “guess” for what happened, but Date Night really threw me for a loop! Just when I started to think one thing, I was lead somewhere else. New ideas were presented all the way through to the end. The ending was very satisfying, all of my questions were answered and it left me thinking. I can’t wait to read more by Samantha Hayes!

Thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC of this book. This was a voluntary review.

Unplugged and Unpopular by Mat Heagerty

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The Details

Unplugged and Unpopular follows Erin Song, a tweenager in the near future where everyone’s life revolves around their technology. Erin gets herself in to some trouble at school, resulting in the ultimate punishment- no technology for a month! While living “off the grid” so to speak, Erin discovers some things about her world that everyone else is too glued to their technology to notice. She soon find out it’s up to her to save the world!

I loved the message this graphic novel gives. I think this is a great middle grade read, and even though it’s aimed at tweens/older elementary, I thought it was a fun read! I sped right through this one. I saw myself in Erin when I was younger, but the twin librarians really made the whole novel for me (plus, we all know I’m a sucker for an alien story 👽). I’m hoping, based on the ending, that this isn’t the last we’ll see of Erin Song!

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the ARC of this book. This was a voluntary review.

Maybe Dying is like Becoming a Butterfly by Pimm Van Hest

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The details

Maybe Dying is like Becoming a Butterfly is a sweet conversation between a boy and his beloved grandpa. It’s a little hard to keep up with who is speaking throughout the book, but that definitely does not take away from the message. I appreciate that Christopher’s grandpa allows him to come up with his own answers to the tough questions that are addressed, and Christopher’s final theory at the end of the book made my heart so happy! The illustrations are breathtaking. This is definitely not something I would read just for fun with kids, but it’s a great tool when dealing with grief!

Thank you to Netgalley and Clavis Publishing for the ARC of this book. This was a voluntary review.

Mooncakes by Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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The Details

Mooncakes was SUCH a cute book! Living in Texas, I’ve been craving fall and cooler weather lately. Mooncakes was exactly what I needed! The illustrations are beautiful, the story line was very entertaining, and I loved the characters. I really appreciate the diversity throughout. I tore through Mooncakes in one sitting! I can’t wait to check out a copy when it is published. I feel like the ending leaves the story open for a sequel, so fingers crossed. 😊

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for the ARC of this book. This was a voluntary review.

Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed

Posted on by kaitlyndyan
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I so wanted to love this book. The premise sounded very interesting to me and one of the main characters and I share a name, so obviously I was even more inspired to get in to this book! However, it started out slow. I have a really hard time giving up on books, so I made myself keep going. Eventually, Melamed gained my interest back! The characters became more relatable, the format became easier to understand, but then came the end of the dang book. It just ended! Without giving any details from the book away: I was so excited with how the storyline was unfolding, I was rooting for the girls, and right as it seemed we would get an explanation…. the book was over. I’m still glad I read Gather the Daughters and I found it very thought provoking, but I was just left feeling meh.

Nice to Meet You!

Posted on by kaitlyndyan

My name is Kaitlyn, I’m 25 years old. I live in north Texas with my boyfriend (Kyle), cat (Georgia), and dog (Scout).

I grew up reading anything I could get my hands on! My mom loves to remind me that as a toddler, she could usually find me in my crib trying my hardest to read the Toys R Us (RIP) ads or anything else I could find. My Nana was a librarian and I always looked forward to birthdays and Christmas- she never failed to give her grandbabies a stack of books!

I’m still trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up, but my dream career has always been anything that involves me snuggled up with a good book. Following in my Nana’s footsteps, I became an elementary school librarian! I loved being with the littles, seeing the world through their eyes, and being exposed to the elementary level and mid-grade book world. This was an amazing two years for me!

In March of 2018, I realized that I needed to make some life changes and did a complete 180*. Now I’m an online banking care agent for a local bank. I love my job and it’s been a whirlwind, but despite the career and life changes, one thing has always remained constant: my love for reading.

I always have a book with me no matter what I am doing. I’m prone to lending out books or recommending new reads for anyone I talk to. In trying to think of a new hobby and a new way to share the one of the things I love the most, I decided I would branch out into the world of book reviewing! I am prone to just rating “stars” on Goodreads and leaving it at that, so I’m hoping this will be a good challenge for me. Thank you for bearing with me on this journey!