ReadingGrrls Paper Safari

REVIEW:  The Full Moon Yearbook is beautiful and easy to read. It tells you about the full moon at every season - what it stands for what types of rituals or meditations you should do at this time of year and even gives a yoga pose that helps connect your body with the season.  The Wheel of the Year is a great companion book to the full moon book giving you information about the season, recipes, and activities to do by yourself or with your kids. It shows how different cultures have similar ways of celebrating certain times of the year. For example the Celtic tradition of Samhain honoring the ancestors and the thinning of the veil and the Mexican Dia Des Los Muertos celebrating the ancestors and those who have come before us.  Putting gardens to bed for the season (death) and getting ready to hunker down for the winter (a hibernation of sorts).  I love these two books and use them to plan full moon ceremonies. It feels good to be connected to the earth with these r...

REVIEW:  I placed a library hold on this so long ago I've forgotten why I did, but I'm glad I did. I wasn't sure if I was going to like this at first but it hooked me pretty quickly and I thought it was unique and fun. The main character has no memory of who he is or what he was doing. Slowly he realizes that he is a Dark Lord, and not a very good one. He also realizes he doesn't really want to be that anymore.  This book has themes choosing good or evil, starting over, how looks can be deceiving and how sometimes the way someone looks dictates how we react to them. Never judge a book by a cover! (which when it comes to books I am totally guilty of).  All of the characters are fantastic - well maybe with the exception of one. I think people of all ages would love this book and actually may learn something about how we treat people who don't look like us.  Publ...

REVIEW:  Beth takes refuge in Kates van but what is she running from? Kate is on a mission to find her missing sister, Phoebe.  She is using her sisters social media as a map and retracing her steps.  After the initial shock of finding Beth, Kate agrees to take her with her. They form a friendship even though Beth is holding things back.  There is a lot of mystery and some chapters that dive into Beths past and what she had been doing prior to winding up in Kate's van. With the boom of van lifers and van life instagrams this is a timely and interesting read with a lot of emphasis on how women should be allowed to travel alone and not feel unsafe. There are all these cautions and rules for solo women travelers that men don't have to deal with.  The ending of this book was a fast pace race with a crazy twist. I loved it. You discover what happened to Phoebe.  Beth and Kate's relationship loses the lies and becomes stronger and Beth gets closure on why...

  REVIEW:  Keeping in mind that this book is geared toward middle school age children I thought it was pretty good. The killer is actually revealed before the end of the book which was different. It reads like one of the teen slasher movies. It is not overly gory but it is definitely creepy.   There was a party several years ago with all the same people. Something happened at the party that seems to be triggering the events in the present. With alternating chapters we learn about the past party and what is happening on a school trip in a secluded cabin, snowed in at the top of a mountain. The ending was fantastic and really left you guessing and while I'm not a fan of open ended endings this one hit its mark. I would say that this definitely skews for a younger audience and not a YA mystery.  It was a bit campy but I liked it.  Publication Date:  October 15, 2024 ...

REVIEW:  I am still haunted by the story, The Lottery by Shirley Jackson and this story had that feel. It's not completely clear what is happening at first but you soon figure it out. This is a creepy town with characters that aren't all that likable with the exception of Osira. Osira's sisters freaked me out and something about them reminded me of the creepy twins in The Shining. However I really had a hard time realizing that Osira and her sisters were not children. Osira is in her 40's and widowed 3 times, her sisters are in their late 20's.  I didn't quite catch on to what was happening in the world. This is an all black town and Osira alludes to other Black Communities failing because they didn't adhere to the same rituals. There are people living in Curdle Creek that have come there from the outside and stay because it's safe. But you really don't understand why.  I really like the first 2/3rds of this book even though I do feel it was drag...