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Chicken Scratch (The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series Book 1)
7.0
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When Madison Reynolds finds herself widowed and penniless before forty, she does the only thing she...
mystery cozy mystery murder crime fiction adult
Louise (64 KP) rated Beautiful Broken Things in Books
Jul 2, 2018
This is Sara Barnard's debut novel and a good one at that! Beautiful broken things is an emotional rollercoaster, you are literally up and down on this suspenseful ride, With friendship, self discovery, school, family and abuse this novel certainly packs a punch!
Caddy has been best friends with Rosie for over 10 years despite attending different schools. Calling each other throughout the week and spending the weekends together they couldn't be closer, until Caddy is introduced to Suzanne a new girl from Rosie's school. Jealous of Rosie's new friendship she doesn't instantly take to her, Suzanne is pretty, bold, exciting and totally different from what Caddy is used to. Slowly Suzanne starts to reveal things about herself and the issues that she is hiding from her friends. With this new found knowledge Caddy suddenly sees Suzanne in a different light and wants to help her but also be involved in this interesting girls life and so their friendship blossoms but threatens to break them all apart for good.
Caddy goes to Esther's which is an all girls private school, she is on a tight leash with her parents, paying thousands of pounds per term for her education they are expecting A grades. With all work and no play nothing significant has happened in Caddy's life, she makes a vow for that to end this year and Suzanne is there to help. People around caddy don't think their friendship is a good idea as Suzanne is 'troubled' and leading her astray. Caddy is very naive and hasn't really be involved with boys or been to house parties but with her new-found friend and wanting to fit in she gets more involved and really comes out of her shell.
Suzanne is beautiful, funny and also a "troubled" teenager, living with her aunt starts speculation as to why this is. With a history of abuse, Suzanne is broken and is what people would call a bad influence, she drinks, she goes around with any boy who will have her and when things get tough she runs away. As she becomes friends with Caddy she is pulling her towards her way of life. Caddy would never have dreamt of climbing out of her window in the middle of the night or randomly catching a train without knowing the destination. But in her bid to help Suzanne she feels she has to be with her every step of the way.
This book explores the true meaning of friendship and love between teenage girls. This is a coming of age story with no romance involved and scarily realistic. It portrays mental health and teenagers sensitively and honest.
I loved that this book was set in the UK it felt so more relatable and exciting when your hometown gets referenced in the book.
There things that let down the book for me were the details of the abuser, there wasn't really any detail whether the abuser had been arrested or why Suzanne had or hadn't reported the abuser. It was sort of just glimpsed over this and neither Caddy nor Rosie questioned it which I thought was a little odd. Caddy was very annoying at points and was making some stupid decisions,I felt like shaking her and telling her to stop! JUST STOP!
I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a realistic portrayal of mental health in young adults.
I rated this 4 out of 5 stars
Caddy has been best friends with Rosie for over 10 years despite attending different schools. Calling each other throughout the week and spending the weekends together they couldn't be closer, until Caddy is introduced to Suzanne a new girl from Rosie's school. Jealous of Rosie's new friendship she doesn't instantly take to her, Suzanne is pretty, bold, exciting and totally different from what Caddy is used to. Slowly Suzanne starts to reveal things about herself and the issues that she is hiding from her friends. With this new found knowledge Caddy suddenly sees Suzanne in a different light and wants to help her but also be involved in this interesting girls life and so their friendship blossoms but threatens to break them all apart for good.
Caddy goes to Esther's which is an all girls private school, she is on a tight leash with her parents, paying thousands of pounds per term for her education they are expecting A grades. With all work and no play nothing significant has happened in Caddy's life, she makes a vow for that to end this year and Suzanne is there to help. People around caddy don't think their friendship is a good idea as Suzanne is 'troubled' and leading her astray. Caddy is very naive and hasn't really be involved with boys or been to house parties but with her new-found friend and wanting to fit in she gets more involved and really comes out of her shell.
Suzanne is beautiful, funny and also a "troubled" teenager, living with her aunt starts speculation as to why this is. With a history of abuse, Suzanne is broken and is what people would call a bad influence, she drinks, she goes around with any boy who will have her and when things get tough she runs away. As she becomes friends with Caddy she is pulling her towards her way of life. Caddy would never have dreamt of climbing out of her window in the middle of the night or randomly catching a train without knowing the destination. But in her bid to help Suzanne she feels she has to be with her every step of the way.
This book explores the true meaning of friendship and love between teenage girls. This is a coming of age story with no romance involved and scarily realistic. It portrays mental health and teenagers sensitively and honest.
I loved that this book was set in the UK it felt so more relatable and exciting when your hometown gets referenced in the book.
There things that let down the book for me were the details of the abuser, there wasn't really any detail whether the abuser had been arrested or why Suzanne had or hadn't reported the abuser. It was sort of just glimpsed over this and neither Caddy nor Rosie questioned it which I thought was a little odd. Caddy was very annoying at points and was making some stupid decisions,I felt like shaking her and telling her to stop! JUST STOP!
I definitely recommend this book if you are looking for a realistic portrayal of mental health in young adults.
I rated this 4 out of 5 stars
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated Defending Taylor in Books
Jun 14, 2018
<a href="https://awindowintobooks.wordpress.com">Full Review</a>
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
About a year ago I discovered Miranda Kenneally. The first book I read was Breathe, Annie, Breath and I immediately fell in love with her writing style and the characters. I am a person who loves sports. I played soccer starting from the age of 7, so when I heard about this book I was very excited. While I enjoyed the book very much I did not enjoy it as much as Kenneally's other books.
Defending Taylor is about Taylor. Taylor is the daughter of a state senator. Previously she attended St. Andrews, an elite private school; however, she was kicked out when she lied about drugs that were found in her possession saying that they belonged to her when in fact they belonged to her boyfriend. Her decision to lie not only caused a lot of problems. It caused her to be kicked out of St. Andrews. It caused problems with her dad's re-election campaign. Now that Taylor no longer can attend St. Andrews she must enroll in Hundred Oaks High School for her senior year.
Taylor feels terrible about everything, and things seems to be getting worse but she is not sure how to solve it; other than telling the truth, but telling the truth now will do not good; in fact, it may make it worse. Part of Taylor's consequence is to visit a counselor several times a week. Taylor at first does not like it but as time goes on it gets better and the counselor helps Taylor sort out some of her feelings and big decisions about her future.
When Taylor was at St. Andrews she played on the soccer team and was due to become the captain her senior year; however, with being expelled she lost that position. Taylor joined Hundred Oaks team to get to mind off of all the stress. Unfortunately, the team is one of the worse in the state and Taylor learns why fast. Taylor thought soccer would help with making friends but the team is not a team and only makes her frustrated. When Ezra, Taylor's brothers friend, comes into the picture, that when things begin to turn around for Taylor. Taylor has had a crush on Ezra for many years. Ezra helps Taylor find her old self again.
This books shows that a teenagers life is not always perfect. Life has its ups and downs even if your family is in the spotlight. It does not matter if you put the pressure on yourself or you take the blame for something you did not do; life is not always perfect.
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
About a year ago I discovered Miranda Kenneally. The first book I read was Breathe, Annie, Breath and I immediately fell in love with her writing style and the characters. I am a person who loves sports. I played soccer starting from the age of 7, so when I heard about this book I was very excited. While I enjoyed the book very much I did not enjoy it as much as Kenneally's other books.
Defending Taylor is about Taylor. Taylor is the daughter of a state senator. Previously she attended St. Andrews, an elite private school; however, she was kicked out when she lied about drugs that were found in her possession saying that they belonged to her when in fact they belonged to her boyfriend. Her decision to lie not only caused a lot of problems. It caused her to be kicked out of St. Andrews. It caused problems with her dad's re-election campaign. Now that Taylor no longer can attend St. Andrews she must enroll in Hundred Oaks High School for her senior year.
Taylor feels terrible about everything, and things seems to be getting worse but she is not sure how to solve it; other than telling the truth, but telling the truth now will do not good; in fact, it may make it worse. Part of Taylor's consequence is to visit a counselor several times a week. Taylor at first does not like it but as time goes on it gets better and the counselor helps Taylor sort out some of her feelings and big decisions about her future.
When Taylor was at St. Andrews she played on the soccer team and was due to become the captain her senior year; however, with being expelled she lost that position. Taylor joined Hundred Oaks team to get to mind off of all the stress. Unfortunately, the team is one of the worse in the state and Taylor learns why fast. Taylor thought soccer would help with making friends but the team is not a team and only makes her frustrated. When Ezra, Taylor's brothers friend, comes into the picture, that when things begin to turn around for Taylor. Taylor has had a crush on Ezra for many years. Ezra helps Taylor find her old self again.
This books shows that a teenagers life is not always perfect. Life has its ups and downs even if your family is in the spotlight. It does not matter if you put the pressure on yourself or you take the blame for something you did not do; life is not always perfect.
VirtualBrowser for Firefox + Flash Player, Java browser & Add-ons - iPad edition
Business and Utilities
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Desktop Firefox Browser with Flash Player, Java, Extensions, Add-Ons; running in a cloud-hosted...
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Music Boxes in Books
Oct 24, 2019
Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker seemed like the perfect chilling read for right around Halloween. A creepy middle grade mystery? Sign me up! Music Boxes lived up to my expectations for sure!
Twelve year old Lindsey has just moved from Nebraska to New York City in order for her younger sister to attend Julliard. In Nebraska, she was part of a fantastic ballet school. In New York, she only gets to dance at the drab community center. When a world renowned ballerina offers to give her free ballet lessons in exchange for dancing in her secret midnight shows, Lindsey can't believe her luck. She's tired of living in her younger sister's talented shadow, so she quickly obliges. However, Lindsey soon realizes that dancers given private lessons are going missing. What's even more worrying is after they disappear, a music box appears with a little ballet figure that looks like the missing dancer. Is there something sinister about Lindsey's new ballet teacher, or can everything be put down to a coincidence?
The plot for Music Boxes reminded me of a Goosebumps book which is saying a lot because I loved the whole Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. I was quickly absorbed in the story from the very first page. Believe me when I say my eyes devoured this novel. Although somewhat predictable for adults, its target audience of middle schoolers will enjoy the many plot twists peppered throughout the book. If the pacing was perfect for me, I believe it will also keep younger readers interested. One of my favorite things about the world of Music Boxes was the dance school and how magical it really was. Another good thing about Music Boxes is there aren't any cliff hanger endings. All loose ends are tied up by the end of the story.
Ballet dancers will really enjoy Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker as there are quite a few ballet terms in it. I had no idea what they meant, but it didn't distract from the story. It would have been nice to have a glossary of ballet terms or some kind of description for those of us who aren't dancers. Plus, the whole story mainly takes place in a ballet school. However, I think non dancers will really enjoy the story too as it has elements that anyone can relate to such as friendship, family, and doing the right thing.
For a middle grade novel, I felt that all the characters felt really alive. Although I would have liked some more back story for a few more of the dancers from Madame Destinee's school, I felt like the most important characters in the novel had enough back story. Lindsey feels like a character that most young girls will be able to connect with whether they are interested in ballet or not. With her conflicting feelings of listening to her parents and wanting to do what she loves, it's easy to see why Lindsey is a relatable character. Lindsey is also very brave and comes across as just a nice girl in general. Bridget, Lindsey's 8 year old sister, was my favorite character. She's a very talented violinist and the reason Lindsey and her family moved to New York City. Even though the family seemed more focused on Bridget, Bridget never came across as having an over-inflated ego or like she was better than Lindsay. I loved how sweet Bridget was and how she wanted what was best for Lindsey. Madame Destinee was an interesting character for sure. I never trusted her from the get go, but it was easy to see why a young child would especially when she's offering them their chance to shine at doing something they really love. I also loved Broussard because I love dogs!
Trigger warnings for Music Boxes include kidnapping, witches, minor violence, and death (although done in a non-scary way).
All in all, Music Boxes is a fantastic story full of intrigue and mystery that readers of all ages will enjoy. The plot is creepy in a good way, and the characters are written superbly! I would definitely recommend Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker to everyone aged 10+. Yes, the target audience is probably 10 - 13 year olds, but I really think everyone would enjoy it. It's written that well!
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(A special thank you to Silver Dagger Book Tours for providing me with an eBook of Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Twelve year old Lindsey has just moved from Nebraska to New York City in order for her younger sister to attend Julliard. In Nebraska, she was part of a fantastic ballet school. In New York, she only gets to dance at the drab community center. When a world renowned ballerina offers to give her free ballet lessons in exchange for dancing in her secret midnight shows, Lindsey can't believe her luck. She's tired of living in her younger sister's talented shadow, so she quickly obliges. However, Lindsey soon realizes that dancers given private lessons are going missing. What's even more worrying is after they disappear, a music box appears with a little ballet figure that looks like the missing dancer. Is there something sinister about Lindsey's new ballet teacher, or can everything be put down to a coincidence?
The plot for Music Boxes reminded me of a Goosebumps book which is saying a lot because I loved the whole Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine. I was quickly absorbed in the story from the very first page. Believe me when I say my eyes devoured this novel. Although somewhat predictable for adults, its target audience of middle schoolers will enjoy the many plot twists peppered throughout the book. If the pacing was perfect for me, I believe it will also keep younger readers interested. One of my favorite things about the world of Music Boxes was the dance school and how magical it really was. Another good thing about Music Boxes is there aren't any cliff hanger endings. All loose ends are tied up by the end of the story.
Ballet dancers will really enjoy Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker as there are quite a few ballet terms in it. I had no idea what they meant, but it didn't distract from the story. It would have been nice to have a glossary of ballet terms or some kind of description for those of us who aren't dancers. Plus, the whole story mainly takes place in a ballet school. However, I think non dancers will really enjoy the story too as it has elements that anyone can relate to such as friendship, family, and doing the right thing.
For a middle grade novel, I felt that all the characters felt really alive. Although I would have liked some more back story for a few more of the dancers from Madame Destinee's school, I felt like the most important characters in the novel had enough back story. Lindsey feels like a character that most young girls will be able to connect with whether they are interested in ballet or not. With her conflicting feelings of listening to her parents and wanting to do what she loves, it's easy to see why Lindsey is a relatable character. Lindsey is also very brave and comes across as just a nice girl in general. Bridget, Lindsey's 8 year old sister, was my favorite character. She's a very talented violinist and the reason Lindsey and her family moved to New York City. Even though the family seemed more focused on Bridget, Bridget never came across as having an over-inflated ego or like she was better than Lindsay. I loved how sweet Bridget was and how she wanted what was best for Lindsey. Madame Destinee was an interesting character for sure. I never trusted her from the get go, but it was easy to see why a young child would especially when she's offering them their chance to shine at doing something they really love. I also loved Broussard because I love dogs!
Trigger warnings for Music Boxes include kidnapping, witches, minor violence, and death (although done in a non-scary way).
All in all, Music Boxes is a fantastic story full of intrigue and mystery that readers of all ages will enjoy. The plot is creepy in a good way, and the characters are written superbly! I would definitely recommend Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker to everyone aged 10+. Yes, the target audience is probably 10 - 13 year olds, but I really think everyone would enjoy it. It's written that well!
-
(A special thank you to Silver Dagger Book Tours for providing me with an eBook of Music Boxes by Tonja Drecker in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.)
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2568 KP) rated Knot in My Backyard in Books
Feb 5, 2020
Murder Hits Close to Home
Martha Rose’s neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley of Southern California used to be peaceful and quiet until a local private school built a baseball stadium in the open space that used to boarder her street. She and her neighbors have tried to fight it, even after it was built, but no one is willing to listen to them. While out for a walk one morning, Martha finds the dead body of Dax Martin, the school’s baseball couch. The police begin to quickly focus on her neighbor Ed Pappas, who had a fight with the victim recently, but Martha doesn’t believe he is guilty. Can she prove it?
Quilting doesn’t play as big a part of this mystery as it did the first in the series, but it is still an active part of Martha’s life, as are her quilting friends. It’s hard to complain since this book is filled with a strong mystery. Martha strikes out early, which only adds to her drive to solve things, and makes the solution more satisfying for us when she does. Some of Martha’s attitude and actions early on were a little frustrating for me, but it made me appreciate the character growth we saw in her later in the book. The rest of the cast are great, and I enjoyed spending time with them, returning characters and new characters alike. When I read the first book in the series, I found some needless political comments off putting, but they were absent in this book. The plot does bring up a few political issues as a natural part of the plot, but they are kept in the background here – the book never stops to peach and they only come up very briefly. As a Los Angeles resident, I enjoyed seeing places I know pop up in this book, especially a few key scenes that took place near where I played ultimate Frisbee for years. Overall, this is a fun second mystery that will please cozy mystery readers.
Quilting doesn’t play as big a part of this mystery as it did the first in the series, but it is still an active part of Martha’s life, as are her quilting friends. It’s hard to complain since this book is filled with a strong mystery. Martha strikes out early, which only adds to her drive to solve things, and makes the solution more satisfying for us when she does. Some of Martha’s attitude and actions early on were a little frustrating for me, but it made me appreciate the character growth we saw in her later in the book. The rest of the cast are great, and I enjoyed spending time with them, returning characters and new characters alike. When I read the first book in the series, I found some needless political comments off putting, but they were absent in this book. The plot does bring up a few political issues as a natural part of the plot, but they are kept in the background here – the book never stops to peach and they only come up very briefly. As a Los Angeles resident, I enjoyed seeing places I know pop up in this book, especially a few key scenes that took place near where I played ultimate Frisbee for years. Overall, this is a fun second mystery that will please cozy mystery readers.
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Cliff Chiang, Brian K. Vaughan, Matthew Wilson and Jared K. Fletcher
8.4
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Rent Unmasked: How to Save the Global Economy and Build a Sustainable Future
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