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The Costume Contest (Mariana Books Rhyming #2)
The Costume Contest (Mariana Books Rhyming #2)
Roger Carlson | 2020 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Are you shopping for Halloween theme books for your child or children? Well. “The Costume Contest” by Roger Carlson is a good one to have on your child’s bookshelves. It deals with Halloween, and it also helps with cooperation and conflict solution.

We meet Aaron and Ava for this story. The story behind this is sweet. Will Aaron help his little sister out with her costume and the contest? You will see that Aaron wants to be something different for Halloween? But did Aaron promise to be a cat with Ava or not?

Children will learn about conflict solutions and solving problems through cooperation. I like how the two kids figure out their trick-or-treating costumes between themselves, though with parents’ support. What does Aaron decide to do?

The author put this story on Halloween, focused on friendship, and saw what happens when they trick-treating. Who ends up willing to participate in the costume contest? The pictures are so colorful. Are the different costumes you see while Aaron and Ava are trick or treating? This book is a sweet story and has a few teaching lessons through the book.

Parents will enjoy having this book on their shelves. Children will want to read this book again and again. It is suitable for the Halloween season, along with some teachable lessons for children.
  
Dead in the Water
Dead in the Water
S. C. Merritt | 2021 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Dead Man Floating
Maisie Mitchell has sold her restaurant and retired to Florida. She’s living in a senior’s only community, and that’s where she’s met Donna “Dot” Pinetta, a retired homicide detective from Chicago. The two are opposites in many ways, but they quickly form a friendship. They are enjoying their lives, although they begin to notice an undercurrent of tension in their community, all centered around Mason Jacobs, the young, handsome recreation director. Things come to a head when they discover his body floating in the pool one morning. Dot jumps into detective mode, with Maisie tagging along behind her. Will the two of them figure out what happened?

This book sets up a promising new series with a sub plot involving Maisie and Dot getting an RV to travel. That premise is what drew me to the book. It’s is much shorter than the books I read, and I did notice the difference. Characters and descriptions were a bit thin, and the plot felt a bit rushed. A few more pages to allow everything to breath would have been nice. But that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the book. I appreciated the set up we got before the murder, introducing suspects and motives. The climax was great as well. I like Maisie and Dot, and I’m definitely planning to join them for more trips.
  
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ClareR (6118 KP) rated Sunny in Books

Mar 21, 2022  
Sunny
Sunny
Sukh Ojla | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy, Romance
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
How I wish I could have known Sunny when I was in my thirties - or even now, if I’m honest! I read this book on The Pigeonhole, and I looked forward to opening each stave every day. It was one of those books that I just didn’t want to end. I mean, what happens after the last page?

Sunny feels the weight of expectation on her shoulders. She knows that her parents want her to get married, but she only seems to meet men who are wrong for her. I think a lot of this is because of her distinct lack of self-confidence and her poor body image. She calls herself fat constantly, she doesn’t seem to like herself very much, and puts herself across as the life and soul of every party to her friends, whilst hating the way that they use her. Actually, I don’t think that a lot of her friends are deserving of her friendship at all.

This book is a journey to self-acceptance for Sunny, and I was very happy to be on that journey with her. It’s funny and sad in equal measure. You can definitely tell that a comedian wrote this. Some of the observations were really funny, and the timing was perfect.

It’s a touching, funny novel, and one I’d recommend without hesitation.
  
We Are Not Like Them
We Are Not Like Them
Jo Piazza, Christine Pride | 2022 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
We Are Not Like Them is a really timely novel about racism in America.

Jen (white) and Riley (black) have grown up together, and are like sisters. Colour has never been an issue between the two of them. But when Jen’s Police Officer husband is involved in the shooting of a black teenaged boy, and Riley is given the job of covering the story as a TV reporter, things become difficult and strained between them. Is their past enough to keep the friendship going? I did wonder on many occasions throughout the book.

Themes include racism, prejudice, white privilege and police brutality. It’s a pretty hard-hitting book, and could be set anywhere in the US at the moment. We have our own issues and institutional racism to deal with in the UK, and it was interesting to see how this panned out. I did think that Riley worried more about Jen. Jen was completely wrapped up in her own problems, using Riley as someone to lean on, whilst not being at all curious about Riley’s feelings on what had happened to the boy. But then, Jen has some pretty huge things going on in her life, too.

I can see this being an ideal book for a book club - so much is going on, there’s so much to unpick.

It’s a powerful novel. Recommended.