A Well-Tempered Heart (The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, #2) by Jan-Philipp Sendker

A Well-Tempered Heart by Jan-Philipp Sendker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by Cassandra Campbell, Julia flees to Burma when she begins hearing the voice of a woman who is afraid of black boots. In Burma reunited with her brother after 10 years, U Ba, she finds out who the woman is and tries to find out what happened to the woman (whose voice she hears) and her two sons. I loved Julia's growth in this 2nd book, U Ba is my favorite- he is just the most sensible, kind, loving human being. The story of Nu Nu, her husband and two sons leveled me; I could not stop listening to this compelling story!

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rez dogs by Joseph Bruchac

Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This middle grade novel in verse about a young girl who visits her grandparents (on their reservation) and must stay because the COVID 19 pandemic breaks out was mesmerizing. I loved the beauty of Malian's life with her grandparents and a dog, Malsum, who becomes her protector (as well as her grandparents) but also the horror of what Malian's grandparents and parents endured simply because they were Native Americans. The stories her grandparents tell her change Malian and will change the reader too! Highly recommended, a must read!

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Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Re-read this as part of my Albright College Zoom book discussion and I loved it even more the 2nd time!

My mother gave this book to me and my reader friend Ruth recommended it years ago. I loved seeing Major Pettigrew grow, become bold, become forthright and fall in love with Mrs. Ali. The English village was beautiful but very tough on who and what they considered outsiders. There was humor, sadness, grief and so much more to enjoy in this book about older characters who change, grab at life, and turn their backs on tradition. Readers will enjoy the Major, Mrs. Ali, Grace, Alice, George, Amina, Sandy, and the Vicar and be chagrined with The Major's son, neighbors, Abdul and lots of others. It was a tug of war to see who could win the war of religion, race, and real estate, and I am so glad I was surprised by this book!

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Vespertine (Vespertine, #1) by Margaret Rogerson

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Awesomely narrated by Caitlin Davies; I loved this enthralling fantasy with Artemesia of Naimes, a socially crippled nun in training who would rather keep to herself than interact with others. When she unwittingly unleashes a revenant (yes Artemesia can hear and talk to spirits) her life as she knew is thrown into chaos. I loved the history, the too powerful Church's involvement, both good and evil, the spirits, and the characters---too many to name, but the Revenant was my favorite and the voice Caitlin Davies used was perfect and I loved the comedy it lent to this fast-paced thriller. I also loved Artemesia's roommate, and the gargantuan possessed soldier (his friends and captain shield him from the people's fear and hysteria) and the characters that seemed good but were evil or vice versa. Rogerson adeptly used magic, saints, evil, secrets, mysteries, and Artemesia's bravery to craft a rich historical fantasy I could not put down & can't wait for the next book in the series. I will be listening to the next book as well- Caitlin Davies was awesome with her compelling voices. YA readers will LOVE this book, highly recommended!

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Room to Dream (Front Desk) by Kelly Yang

Room to Dream by Kelly Yang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Once again, I just reveled in this new Front Desk series! Mia and her friends are as strong as ever, but Lupe is going up to the high school for classes as Mia and Jason miss her! Mia is getting too many writing rejections and for the first time she is not telling Lupe or Jason... but she is super excited to return to China to visit her grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. While there, Mia makes friends with a beloved aging teacher who encourages Mia to submit her articles to youth newspaper in China. Her articles are an instant hit, she gets fan letters, and she begins to confide what she is feeling towards her friends (they will never read it, they are in America!) and her love of writing is
energized. But back at home, the new hotel next door is using dirty tactics to undermine the Calavista and Mia, Hank, and the shareholders are approached to sell the Calavista, what is Mia to do? I just love Kelly Yang's writing; it is real, authentic and students reading this series will find this 3rd book packs alot of punch and will LOVE it---friendship, family, big business, journalism, bias, racism, consent, and adaptability. A must read!

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The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thank you to my friend, Michelle for recommending this a few times. Awesomely narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, this was a spell binding, gripping, lyrical, and mesmerizing romance of two people in Burma, who end up saving each 0ther. I loved the way Sendker told this awesome historical fiction story---his writing was beautiful, the way Tin Win views the world as a blind man and his romance with Mimi (how he details their lovemaking, his comfort and solace with carrying her on his back, the beauty of MiMi and Kalaw. I loved how this story unfolded and have not been able to stop thinking about the series of events in U Ba's story to Julia about Tin Win and MiMi's life and how affecting it was to Julia and her thinking and her outlook on her life and her father's life in Kalaw. A must read!!!

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The Hit (Will Robie, #2) by David Baldacci

The Hit by David Baldacci
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this 2nd book in the Will Robie series--if you love suspense, psychological thrillers and assassin, Will Robie is an awesome hero---some of the same characters like Vance and Julie appear which I loved, and this time Robie is tasked with getting rid of an assassin just like him, working for the same team, Jessica Reel. She and Robie trained together and they are the best. So why does Jessica kill 2 of the higher ups in their agency? I really liked Jessica too when you read her back story and as the book progresses, Robie and Rell save each other always keeping in mind---they have targets on their back. I can't wait to move onto the 3rd book in this series. Just as I loved the JohnnPullen series by Baldacci---now I am captivated by this series---Yes!

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Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

Me by Amber McBride
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This YA debut by Amber McBride took me totally by surprise; Moth is so alone after losing her family in a car accident, living with an aunt and going to school feeling lonely and invisible until one day in school, she meets Sani. McBride's descriptions of Sani from Moth's POV were just so beautiful and gripping. How they find each other and becomes friends is a must read for all and oh that ending!

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Hideout by Watt Key

Hideout by Watt Key
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this suspenseful middle grade thriller about Sam, son of a sheriff, and Davey, a boy he meets on a remote island near his Gulf Shore Home. Sam is ultra responsible, but due to circumstances, when his Dad gives him a boat, Sam heads out intending to disobey his father's rules, and then he meets Davey, whose story is unbelievable, he is waiting at his family's old home in the thick of the woods. As Sam helps Davey with supplies and food, they bond as they make this place ready for "his family" but things are so not what they seem. I loved Sam's bravery and rooted for him---readers will too! A must read!

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Muted by Tami Charles

Muted by Tami Charles
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a great, compelling read---a novel in verse fiercely telling the story of three girls who love singing, harmonize together, and dream of escaping to the music world, singing, becoming famous and staying together----oh this does not happen! Denver and her friends Shak and Dali are 17 yrs old when they see their fave artist, Merc Ellis would be coming to their area, and decide they will make themselves heard, seen and astound Merc. As they get his eye and go back stage, all three are beguiled---what happens is that smooth Merc shows his true self and starts to isolate them---Dali and Denver if they do see it, allow themselves to be swooning over his attention and ignore the warning signals---but Shak does not and she is the first to go. Denver and Dali slip off and become Merc's proteges---but do they really? This is a must read, I could not stop turning the pages and I loved Charles' language in telling this cautionary tale. Going back and forth in time, my fear for Dali and Denver was heightened with each page I turned as they allowed themselves to go deeper and deepper into this den of horror. A must read!

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With a Star in My Hand: Ruben Dario, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle

With a Star in My Hand: Rubén Darío, Poetry Hero by Margarita Engle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow I just continue to love all the novels in verse Margarita Engles writes and Ruben Dario's life was depicted authentically in this poetic rendering. I loved how Engle uses poetry to tell his story, also how he created the Modernismo literary movement blending poetry and prose. From his first beginnings as a cast away child, listening to the magical stories from his uncle and others and vowing to be like them wandering and speaking and writing like the storytellers who grew up listening to. With the passing of his uncle, life moves on and known as Felix Ruben Garcia Sarmiento as a lad, his adopted family decides to change his name to Ruben Dario and so begins his journey in nature, life and adventures in poetry. This is a must read!

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As Good As Dead (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #3) by Holly Jackson

As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I was so so looking forward to this 3rd book in Holly Jackson's A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and the only thing I can say that I continued to love was the team of narrators who did a flawless rendering of this otherwise disappointing book. As I began to listen, I knew Pip was in some trouble because she kept repeating and repeating and repeating---so imagine a whole book of her inner monologue repeating and repeating and repeating!!! I knew all the stuff she kept repeating because I listened to ALL the books, but the fact that Pip did not seek help except through popping pills was a letdown. She was such a strong female character, I knew she could expose the DT Killer but once again and throughout this book, she did not trust the police, she did not confide in her family, and she went off on practically everything---she still had meticulous knowledge but she let her PTSD from the 2nd book drown her and this affected her confidence which the reader heard over and over again with her inner monologues. I listened to the end and was not happy at all with her decisions and how she was miserable and counting days and trying to convince herself (and the reader) she made the right choices to protect them. Come on, the Pip I knew had an arsenal of evidence and facts to turn the case around...instead she goes crazy, makes her friends complicit and then casts them off in the name of protecting them. The Pip I knew could have figured out a different way to convince the police, yet she did not---she takes one comment from the lead policeman and allows that to torpedo what she could have easily proved---but she goes back to the 1st and 2nd books and how the police would not listen to her (mind you- she only shares with Ravi, not her family and friends) I felt Pip kept me hostage the whole book and I did not like it one bit.

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The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow did I learn SO SO much from this gripping historical fiction taking place in Ireland starring Cyril Avery (who is not a real Avery) who as a 3 day old infant is adopted by Maude and Charles Avery who never should have adopted him! John Boyne's characters are all memorable, some you love and others you detest. Cyril's life is wide open for all of us to see---he has a head on his shoulders, he is gay and in love with his best friend, Julian (since the age of 7 and Julian hasn't a clue) and he lives in homophobic Ireland from the 1940s to present day. Boyne's story is very memorable, I could not stop listening, the narrator was fabulous and his voices, whether male or female, were just so spot on. I laughed, I cried, and I wanted so much for Cyril, I rooted for his happiness and that he would meet his mom. The way Boyne structured conversations with the same things being said over and over again was such a great way to get a point across, emphasize nonsense and to tell this story of being gay in a backward country through so many lenses. A must read for all!

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