Book Review: Thumb Fire Desire by Carol Nickles

I received a free ebook copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Description

In the Spring of 1881, indigent seamstress Ginny Dahlke arrives in one of the earliest Polish American settlements—Parisville, Michigan.

Deemed charmless and awkward by her mean-spirited sister-in-law, Ginny disparages her chance of securing love.

But sought-after widowed farmer Peter Nickles is enamored by Ginny’s perseverance, her pioneer spirit and, her inclusive acceptance of the indigenous peoples of Michigan.

The seductiveness of a buxom heiress, a twisted story of an old-country betrothal, and the largest natural disaster in Michigan’.s history—The Great Thumb Fire of September 5, 1881, challenge their fledgling attraction and ultimate committal.

My Thoughts

Thumb Fire Desire is set in the “thumb” of Michigan during the late 1800’s. Ginny Dahlke comes to live with her brother and sister-in-law in a Polish American community. I was not very familiar with the area or culture and liked how the author included lots of details about Polish culture. While the characters are fictional, it is based on a real event, a fire that devastated the area. The perseverance and faith of these people shown through in Nickles’ writing. While I knew nothing of the Thumb fire, I was pleasantly surprised that there were many references to the town of Dansville, NY which is a small town in the same county where I grew up. It was a cool connection for me.

I liked Ginny a lot. She was caring and hard-working, but also had a sense of humor. Peter, her love interest, was also a good person liked to play jokes. Peter has suffered the loss of a wife and infant daughter and is naturally hesitant to start another relationship. I enjoy a romance where the relationship really develops and the characters get to know each other. You definitely get that in this story, but I would have preferred that it go a little faster. Peter’s indecisiveness grew tiresome at times. Overall though, it was a sweet, slow-burn romance.

August 28, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the Week: The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Summary

Kiana is spending two months with her father and “stepmonster” while her mother films a movie. On the way to register for her new school her baby brother gets sick and her stepmother rushes off to the doctors before she can register Kiana for classes. Due to a mix-up at that office she ends up in a class for the “unteachables”, kids who the school has given up on.

Normally, a teacher would notice quickly if a student doesn’t belong in his class. But, Zachary Kermit is the most burnt-out teacher in the school. He wasn’t always that way, but a thirty-year-old cheating scandal still haunts him. The superintendent is itching to get rid of him. Mr. Kermit is assigned to the unteachables in hopes that he will resign before cashing in his early retirement. But, something strange happens. The students the entire school dreads, turns out to be the class the best class he’s ever had and revives his love of teaching. But is it enough to save his job? The kids will have to band together to save the teacher they’ve grown to love.

My Thoughts

Korman has a gift for writing books that appeal to the reluctant reader. This is very similar to Ungifted , except now the misplaced student is in a class with troubled students. Like most of Korman’s books it’s told from multiple perspectives, so we get to know all of the kids and adults. This stretches a lot of rules about how schools work, but the outrageous plot and humor draw you in to the story. I hope that, like Ungifted, he writes a sequel.

August 21, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the Week: Liar & Spy by Rebecca Stead

Summary

After his father loses his job, Georges’ family moves to a Brooklyn apartment building. The first day there he notices an invitation to join a spy club. He thinks it’s a joke, but then he meets Safer and his sister, Candy. Safer pulls Georges into a mission to spy on their mysterious neighbor, Mr. X. As the mission continues the lines are blurred between lies and reality, and Safer and Georges both face problems they’ve been avoiding. Meanwhile, his science class is the middle of learning about taste, and the entire class is anxious to see the results of a taste test. According to school legend, your future is determined by whether not you can taste a certain chemical.

My Thoughts

I listened to this book while on a road trip. I think that affected my experience of the book. I liked the plot and the characters but found my mind wandering, as tends to happen to me when I listen to books. I really liked the story with Safer. He’s an interesting, quirky, character from a Bohemian family. He gets Georges into some very comical situations, but also teaches him a lot about friendship. While the story at school was very important and had a great scene where bullies get what they deserve, it didn’t capture my attention as much. I think it was partly the idea that kids would put so much stock in a science experiment (or that a seventh-grade teacher would have the luxury of spending an entire week, just teaching about taste). I do think it would be a great book for class discussions. There are so many cross-curricular activities that could be tied into this book. I loved that she tied in some lessons about the history of spelling, which I find fascinating.

August 14, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the Week: Wild Robot by Peter Brown

Summary

When a ship carrying robots crashes on a deserted island, most of the machines are destroyed. Otters from the island find one still intact, and inadvertently activate it. Knowing no other life, the robot, Roz, learns through observing the animals. At first, they think she’s a monster, but as they get to know her Roz becomes a member of the island. Soon Roz is no longer a regular robot, but a wild robot. She even adopts a gosling. The island residents have no idea that as they are forming a family, there’s a search party looking to recover Roz.

My Thoughts

This book is delightful. I listened to the audio version. The sound effects and voices for the different animals, really added to the experience. I thought this was such a unique concept. The combination of animals and robots has broad appeal to kids. I liked that it didn’t shy away from the harsh aspects of nature but handled them in an honest, matter-of-fact manner that did not make the story too sad. This would be a great book for kids to read independently or to read as a class.

August 7, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the Week: Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine.

This is really my book from last week, but I did not finish in time. Hoping to squeeze in another one in the next few days so I’m back on schedule.

Summary

It’s 1958 and Little Rock, Arkansas is divided over the issue of desegregation. As the book opens Marlee Nisbett is more concerned with her own fears about starting middle school than politics. The math whiz is terrified of talking to others. Then she meets a new girl, Liz, who helps Marlee overcome her fears. Then, it’s discovered that Liz is black girl “passing” as white. She is expelled from school and forbidden from making contact. However, the bonds of friendship cannot be broken that easily. The girls continue to meet in secret. Liz helps Marlee find her voice and Marlee helps Liz think before she speaks. As the tension surrounding school integration increases, the girls begin to take an active role in creating change. This brings the danger closer to home.

My Thoughts

The Lions of Little Rock highlights an important historical event. Set around the desegregation of Little Rock’s schools I thought it did a good job of showing characters beliefs evolve throughout the book, without being unrealistic. Characters don’t go from extreme racists to activists. It’s a much more subtle change as people who were content to accept the status quo realize they can’t stay silent any longer. It does a great job of showing how to organize and make change.

While the historical element is obviously the driving force of the story, the story is relatable to anyone trying to find their voice. At the beginning of the story Liz asks to be Marlee’s partner for a project because she realizes that due to her silence Marlee doesn’t get credit for her work. Instead of letting Marlee do all the work then taking credit, Liz works with Marlee to help overcome her fear of public speaking. Throughout the story, Marlee begins speaking to more people and she realizes it gets easier. It’s beautiful to see the difference one friend can make.

While I really enjoyed this book, I see it more as a great book to read in a class than one that a typical kid would read for pleasure.

August 4, 2022

My Favorite Read of July 2022

Just when you think this war has taken everything you loved, you meet someone and realize that somehow you still have more to give.
Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea

Goodreads Synopsis

While the Titanic and Lusitania are both well-documented disasters, the single greatest tragedy in maritime history is the little-known January 30, 1945 sinking in the Baltic Sea by a Soviet submarine of the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German cruise liner that was supposed to ferry wartime personnel and refugees to safety from the advancing Red Army. The ship was overcrowded with more than 10,500 passengers — the intended capacity was approximately 1,800 — and more than 9,000 people, including 5,000 children, lost their lives.

Sepetys (writer of ‘Between Shades of Gray’) crafts four fictionalized but historically accurate voices to convey the real-life tragedy. Joana, a Lithuanian with nursing experience; Florian, a Prussian soldier fleeing the Nazis with stolen treasure; and Emilia, a Polish girl close to the end of her pregnancy, converge on their escape journeys as Russian troops advance; each will eventually meet Albert, a Nazi peon with delusions of grandeur, assigned to the Gustloff decks.

My Thoughts

Every time I think I’ve had enough of reading about WWII, I find a book with a book with a different perspective. I knew nothing about the Wilhelm Gustloff. I love learning about events that should be considered major historical events, but somehow get lost. This is listed as YA, but I would consider it adult. I think that teenagers could read and enjoy it. However only one of the four main characters is in the YA age range. I wouldn’t want an adult to miss out on the book thinking it wasn’t for them.

What I liked about this book:

It’s an event that hasn’t been written about a lot in historical fiction novels
The characters are complex, and their secrets aren’t revealed immediately, but they aren’t drawn out so long that it becomes frustrating to the reader.
I loved the shoemaker character. He is a minor character, but I love the way he adds touches of humor and sentimentality to scenes.

August 1, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the week: Heroes Like Us: Two Stories by Onjali Q. Raúf

This week I was fortunate to receive an eARC copy of Heroes Like Us: Two Stories by Onjali Q. Raúfroes from NetGalley. This review is based on my own personal opinions.

Summary

Heroes Like Us is a collection of two stories in which children make a difference and become heroes.

The first story, The Day We Met the Queen, takes place after the events of Raúf’s previous novel, The Boy at the Back of the Class. After a group of friends help their refugee friend, Ahmet stand up for other refugees, the Queen of England wants to meet them. Not everyone is happy about this, including politicians and Brendan-the-bully, who aren’t above sabotaging the kids’ big day.

The second story, The Great Food Heist is about a boy whose family is struggling to make ends meet after his father leaves. His mom works hard and does everything she can to make the best of a difficult situation but putting food on the table is a constant struggle. They’ve been getting by with programs at school and using the local food bank. But, when someone starts stealing from the local food bank, Nelson and his friends are determined to catch the thieves.

My Thoughts

These stories send a great message to kids about how anybody can become a hero, if they are willing to stand up for what is right. Sometimes books with these themes can become a bit preachy and are more appealing to adults than kids. However, these stories have a lot of humor and action that engage kids. What kid wouldn’t love reading about stink bombs being set off in the middle of an assembly?

I had not read The Boy at the Back of the Class but was still able to follow the story with no problem. I intend to read it now because I want to know more about these characters. I think it would’ve made it a little more meaningful, so I would recommend reading it first.

July 24, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the Week: Al Capone Throws me a Curve by Gennifer Choldenko

For this week’s middle grade book, I returned to one of my favorite middle grade series: Tales from Alcatraz.

Summary

Al Capone Throws Me A Curve is book four in the Tales from Alcatraz Series. The Flanagans, like the other families of Alcatraz guards live on Alcatraz. Moose, the narrator, always tries to do what is right, but keeps getting mixed up in schemes invented by the warden’s daughter, Piper. When Piper isn’t getting him in trouble, Moose is busy protecting his autistic sister, Natalie.

In this installment the island is getting ready for a visit from the Bureau of Prisons, and Moose’s dad is up for a promotion. Moose is about to enter high school, and his main focus is getting on the baseball team. Natalie is turning seventeen and this is creating new dangers for her living on an island of convicts. If keeping her safe isn’t difficult enough for Moose, Piper is back and sneakier (and prettier) than ever.

My Thoughts

Al Capone Does My Shirts is one of my absolute favorite middle grade books. I don’t love the sequels as much, but they are still great reads. This is the first one I’ve read since visiting Alcatraz a couple of years ago on vacation. While the kids would never have actually been able to get into the cell house or have interactions with Al Capone, the rules of the prison are very true to real life.

I really enjoyed the way the characters have matured in this series but stayed true to themselves. Moose is still trying to take care of everything. Piper is trying to be good but can’t always fight her sneaky impulses. Natalie is making eye contact but is still very young for her age. Mrs. Flanagan is making an effort to be more understanding of Moose’s feelings, but still struggles with seeing Natalie clearly.

What I love most about this series is the way Moose interacts with Natalie. Even though he often resents the responsibilities that come from having a sister with a disability, it is obvious he loves and understands Natalie. It also shows how kids are often more accepting than adults.

I would recommend reading this series in order. There is enough humor, baseball and adventure to keep a young reader interested while still giving touching life messages.

July 17, 2022

Book Review: Mud Puddle Early Reader by Robert Munsch

Thank you to netgalley for providing me with a complimentary uncorrected proof. All opinions are my own.

Details:

Title: Mud Puddle

Author: Robert Munsch

Illustrator: Dušan Petričić

Publisher: Annick Press

Publication Date: 9/6/22

Summary:

This is an early reader print format of a Robert Munsch classic. Wherever Julie Ann goes a mud puddle jumps on her. Then, she runs back home where her mom drops her into the tub. A clean Julie Ann returns outside, only to be attacked by the muddle puddle once again. At last, she is able to defeat the mud puddle with a smelly bar of yellow soap.

My thoughts:

This is a delightful story that kids and parents will love. The idea of a child constantly getting dirty is relatable and the humorous illustrations add to the story. As a reading teacher, what I love most is that this imprint includes lots of good reading information to make the experience more beneficial to early readers. Included are simple bulleted lists of phonics skills, pre-reading ideas and tips for read aloud. This is so helpful for teachers and parents who want to make the reading meaningful for early readers. This would be a great addition to any primary classroom or home library.

Rating

July 14, 2022

Middle Grade Book of the Week: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

This is week two of my new “middle grade book of the week” feature. As I mentioned last week, I created this feature to motivate myself to reach my goal of reading more middle grade books. I am so glad I did. This was another excellent book.

Summary

When Stars are Scattered is a graphic novel based on the life of a Somalian refugee, Omar Mohamed. Omar and his brother, Hassan are separated from their parents during the Somalian civil war and end up in a Kenyan refugee camp. The majority of the story takes place after they have been in the camp for several years and Omar has the opportunity to go to school. Previously, he didn’t go because he was caring for Hassan, who is nonverbal and suffers from a seizure disorder. Life is difficult in the camp and struggles with maintaining hope. But he works hard to do well in school, and dreams of becoming a UN social worker one day. Eventually, Omar and Hassan are resettled in America where Omar has gone on to help many refugees.

My Thoughts

I don’t read a lot of graphic novels. I keep them in my classroom because I know students like them, but I’m not drawn to them myself. However, I wanted to read this one because it would be a grade companion read for A Long Walk to Water, which sixth graders read at my school. It’s made me rethink my feelings about graphic novels. The format made it an engaging and quick read, without taking away from the depth of the story. I was so impressed with the way Jamieson was able to achieve so much characterization and evoke emotions with so few words. It’s a great inspirational read, that is not intimidating for reluctant readers.

July 9, 2022